‘If all adults get £75 a week NHS would save billions and child poverty reduced’

Universal basic income has the potential to significantly reduce child poverty levels in the UK and alleviate pressure on the NHS, according to a groundbreaking study conducted in the North East.

Researchers, including a team from Northumbria University, propose providing all adults in the country with a minimum of £75 per week could lead to the lowest child poverty rate since the 1960s and significantly improve people’s physical and mental well-being.

An expert now urges the future North East mayor, to be elected in May, to seriously consider implementing this idea.

Earlier this year, plans were unveiled to give a select group of Jarrow residents £1,600 per month for two years as part of a basic income experiment, which is currently seeking funding.

The recent research highlights the potential benefits of a nationwide basic income model, suggesting it could prevent or delay up to a million cases of depressive disorders, resulting in cost savings of £125m to £1bn for the NHS and social care services.

The report estimates a universal basic income in the UK could also generate between 130,000 and 655,000 additional years of people living fulfilling lives, valued at £3.9bn to £19.7bn.

Matthew Johnson, a professor of public policy at Northumbria University and the lead researcher of the project, describes the findings as a “huge, groundbreaking step” in understanding the return on investment for this radical proposal, which would require substantial funding.

He said: “Over the last five or six years, I have been persuaded that there is no alternative. The kind of challenges we face as a society, and particularly in this region, can’t be addressed through tinkering with the welfare system.

“We have people earning £50,000 a year who are in fuel poverty. We have people exposed to massive increases in costs through the rising interest rates.

“I think this is a policy that is only going to become more and more attractive to our region.”

The estimated savings to the NHS outlined in the report, funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research, are considered “extremely conservative” by Professor Johnson.

He urges the incoming North East mayor to seriously consider the implementation of a basic income scheme for the region, asserting without transformative policies like this, the mayor’s role will be irrelevant.

The study examined various basic income models, including one that provides adults under the age of 65 with £75 per week, an intermediate model with £185 per week, and a more generous option offering £295 per week.

All models included additional unconditional payments for children and those over the age of 65. Researchers argue that these proposals could reduce working-age poverty by between 29 percent and 75 percent and bring the UK’s level of inequality to the lowest in the world.

Funding for these measures could come from increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Dr Jonathan Coates, a GP in Newcastle, said: “As a GP, I increasingly find that my patients are in financially precarious positions, regardless of whether they are in work or on benefits, and this has a clear impact on their physical and mental health.

“Basic income represents an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of previous bold interventions to address the causes, not the symptoms, of illness.”

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