by Kate McFarland | Jan 19, 2017 | News
Photo: Buchanan Institute team at a brainstorming event.
The Buchanan Institute, Scotland’s only student-led think tank, has prepared a report (“A Secure Foundation to Build Our Lives”) that makes a case for universal basic income in the UK.
The report will be launched at a University of Edinburgh event on January 26.
The Buchanan Institute’s recommendations for a UBI draw upon previous work by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), especially the report “Creative Citizens, Creative State” by Anthony Painter and Chris Thoung, and the Citizen’s Income Trust. In particular, it looks to the RSA’s proposal as one that meets three core requirements laid out in the report: “that the proposal is fiscally sound, practically achievable and is within reasonable budget constraints; that it ensures that the least-well-off, particularly low-earners with children, are well supported; and that it ensures low marginal deduction rates, making work pay for the majority of earners.” However, the Buchanan Institute proposes some adjustments to the RSA’s basic income scheme, specifically concerning the amount of the basic income allotted to adults aged 18 to 24 (who, under the RSA’s scheme, would receive transfers lower than those paid to adults over age 25) and to children.
After assessing previous models and research on basic income, the Buchanan Institute proposes a UBI of £7,420 per annum for adults over age 65 (i.e. current pensioners), £3,692 for adults aged 18 to 65, £2,925 for children aged 5 to 17, £3,839 for firstborn children under age 5 and £3,387 for additional children under age 5. The report estimates the cost of such a UBI, implemented across the UK, at between £14 and £19 billion per annum — an amount that the author claims is not out-of-line with previous revenue decisions (e.g. tax cuts) and “affordable and achievable with the necessary political will”.
In conclusion, the report recommends that the British government commission a pilot study in a “medium-sized” city or town (defined as having a population between 250,000 and 500,000), in which participants are provided with an unconditional basic income at levels matching those proposed by the Buchanan Institute. Additionally, it recommends the Work and Pensions Committee of the House of Commons, which recently held an oral evidence session on basic income, to investigate the Buchanan Institute’s proposed UBI.
The report is authored by Jonny Ross-Tatam, founder of the Buchanan Institute and a student of history at the University of Edinburgh.
Launch Event
The official launch of the report will take place at a public event at the University of Edinburgh on January 26, 2017.
The event will also feature talks from Glasgow Councillor Matt Kerr, who has been instrumental in spearheading the movement for a basic income pilot in the city, and RSA Scotland leader Jamie Cooke, who is also involved in the planning of regional pilots in Scotland. At present, basic income pilot studies are being considered in both Fife and Glasgow.
While emphasizing that the Buchanan Institute is “very supportive of pilot projects being commissioned anywhere in the UK,” Ross-Tatam expresses hope that the organization can begin to act on its recommendations within the Scottish context: “As part of our launch, we will call on those leading the basic income pilots in Fife and Glasgow to consider the payment levels we have proposed for these pilot projects. We hope that the Buchanan Institute and our work on basic income can contribute to any pilot projects that take place in Fife and Glasgow.”
For more details about this free event, as well as registration information, see its pages on Facebook and Eventbrite. (Note that, as is just and fair, wine and beer will be served at the beginning of the event.)
More Information
• Ross-Tatam has written a summary of the report for the RSA’s blog (December 21, 2016).
• “A Secure Foundation to Build Our Lives” develops ideas that Ross-Tatam earlier articulated in his TEDx talk “Why we shouldn’t have to work just to survive” (February 2015), in which he argues that a basic income should be supported as a way to allow people to pursue their passions:
N.B. Two days following the Buchanan Institute event, BIEN’s Scottish affiliate, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland, will be holding an event in Kelty, Scotland, with further discussion of the pilots currently being planned in Scotland.
Article reviewed by Jonny Ross-Tatam and Danny Pearlberg.
Images used with permission of Jonny Ross-Tatam.
by Kate McFarland | Jan 4, 2017 | News
BIEN’s Scottish affiliate, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland (CBIN Scotland), was launched in November 2016 at an event in Glasgow.
The keynote address was delivered by Guy Standing, BIEN cofounder at Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
Standing argues that the growth of the precariat–a class of workers with unstable employment, no benefits, and unsustainable debt–provides the best argument for the need for a basic income in the United Kingdom and other countries.
CBIN Scotland’s next public event will be held in Kelty, Fife, during the last weekend in January, with a keynote address delivered by BIEN’s co-chair Karl Widerquist.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Moyan Brenn
by Kate McFarland | Dec 27, 2016 | News
BIEN’s Scottish affiliate, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland (CBINS), will be holding a public event in Kelty, a town in Fife, on Saturday, January 28. The location is notable in part because the council area of Fife is presently investigating the possibility of a basic income pilot in one of its towns.
Karl Widerquist, credit: Enno Schmidt
The theme of the event is “Basic Income: Real Social Security”. BIEN co-chair Karl Widerquist will be the keynote speaker, and additional invited speakers include members of the Fife Council, Scottish Government, Department of Work and Pensions, and Inland Revenue, who will discuss the latest plans and possibilities for a pilot project in Fife.
Launched in November 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland, CBINS is one of BIEN’s newest affiliates.
More information about the Kelty event is available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1637025389924686/
See also the listing on BIEN’s event calendar.
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan
Photo: West Bucklay farm, in Fife near Kelty; CC BY 2.0 B4bees
by Kate McFarland | Nov 29, 2016 | News
A basic income pilot in Scotland is appearing ever more likely in light of meetings in the council area of Fife and city of Glasgow held in late November.
Interest in basic income has been growing in Scotland in 2016. In March, the country’s largest political party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), passed a motion supporting basic income. In May, interest in the idea was further stoked when Professor Guy Standing, co-founder of BIEN and Professorial Research Associate at SOAS, delivered the Angus Millar Lecture for the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Scotland. Standing’s lecture, which focused on the topic of a basic income for Scotland, was followed by a roundtable event involving civil servants of the Scottish government, local authorities, and members of think tanks and community groups.
These discussions eventuated in the scheduling of multiple BI-related events in November, timed to coincidence with Standing’s return to Scotland to give the Kilbrandon Lecture at the University of Strathclyde. These included two meetings on basic income pilots — one with the Fife Council, the other with the Glasgow City Council — in addition to the official launch of Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland (CBINS), BIEN’s Scottish affiliate.
Fife Council Meeting
On Friday, November 25, the Fife Council held a roundtable event in Dunfermline to discuss ideas for a pilot in the council area.
The event brought together councillors, civil servants, members of CBINS, and other individuals interested in basic income.
Standing attended the meeting and delivered an overview of pilots conducted in other parts of the world and their potential implications for Scotland. Following Standing’s presentation, participants discussed next steps toward implementing a pilot, and decided to convene a group to carry out an initial feasibility study in early 2017. Then, if the group determines that sufficient funding can be secured, it will move forward with a formal design process.
Jamie Cooke, head of RSA Scotland, also participated in the meeting. Commenting on the progress made in planning the pilot, he says, “This is a significant step forward for basic income in Scotland, giving a very realistic chance of a pilot taking place in Scotland within the next couple of years.”
The Fairer Fife Commission, an independent commission created by the Fife Council, initially recommended a basic income pilot in a report published in November 2015, where it was one of 40 policy recommendations for achieving a “fairer Fife” by 2030. Specifically, it encouraged the Fife Partnership, Fife’s community planning board, to select a town in the council area in which to run a pilot informed by global best practice (e.g., at the time the report was written, the pilot devised by the Dutch city of Utrecht). The pilot was included among the Commission’s anti-poverty proposals, which otherwise focused largely on promoting work and employment.
Glasgow City Council Meeting
Glasgow City Council building, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 小豪豪 Wu
Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, is also considering a basic income pilot.
On Thursday, November 24, the Glasgow City Council convened a meeting to discuss ideas for the city.
According to Cooke, discussions at this meeting demonstrated that the city has “a more developed and enthusiastic support for basic income” than advocates had previously realized, and the council agreed to continue to look into the idea.
Speaking at the launch of CBINS on Saturday, November 26, Glasgow Councillor Matt Kerr announced that the council had instructed its officers to begin researching and designing a local pilot study.
More Information
Fairer Fife Commission (November 2015) “Fairness Matters”
Report proposing a basic income pilot as one strategy to address poverty in Fife.
Kathleen Nutt (November 22, 2016) “Trial for a basic income for all may go ahead in Scotland,” The National.
Initial media announcement in advance of the Dunfermline meeting on a basic income pilot for Fife.
Thanks to Jamie Cooke at RSA Scotland for much of the information contained in this article.
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan.
Cover Photo: Castle and walled garden in Pittenweem, Fife, CC BY 2.0 Glen Bowman.
by Kate McFarland | Nov 15, 2016 | News
One of BIEN’s newest affiliates, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland, will hold its official launch on November 26, 2016, at the Pearce Institute community center in Glasgow.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will include a combination of lectures, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, with the keynote address delivered by Guy Standing, cofounder and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network and Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
A detailed schedule and registration information are available at the event’s Eventbrite page.
Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland states that its mission is “to advance research and public education about the economic and social effects of Citizen’s Basic Income systems (defined here as schemes which guarantee an unconditional, non-withdrawable income payable to every citizen as a right of citizenship).”
Image: The Pearce Institute, CC-BY-SA-2.0 geograph.org.uk
