Report proposes everyone in UK should be given £10,000

A new report has suggested that the government should give £10,000 to every citizen under 55.
A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.
A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.

The report from the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) said that such a move would ensure that everyone is getting a basic state wage.

Under the proposals, two payments of £5,000 each would be paid over two years in lieu of certain state benefits and tax reliefs.

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Payments would come from a British sovereign wealth fund in the form of two annual £5,000 dividends.

A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.
A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.
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Such a move, according to the RSA would compensation workers for the way their roles are changing in the workplace.

The report reads that the money would aid workers through the 2020s “as automation replaces many jobs, climate change hits and more people face balancing employment with social care”.

Applicants would not be means tested but would need to try and demonstrate how the money would be used when applying.

A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.
A new report has called for lump sums to be given to everyone in the UK.

Anthony Painter, director of the RSA’s Action and Research Centre told the BBC: “The simple fact is that too many households are highly vulnerable to a shock in a decade of disruption, with storm clouds on the horizon if automation, Brexit and an ageing population are mismanaged.

“Without a real change in our thinking, neither tweaks to the welfare state nor getting people into work alone, when the link between hard work and fair pay has broken, will help working people meet the challenges ahead.”

The report says the fund could help people: “A low-skilled worker might reduce their working hours to attain skills enabling career progression.

“The fund could provide the impetus to turn an entrepreneurial idea into a reality. It could be the support that enables a carer to be there for a loved one.”

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Building of the fund would be similar to Norway’s sovereign fund and would be based on a number of factors such as public debt, levies on untaxed corporate assets and investments in long term infrastructure projects.

Child Benefit, Tax Credits and Jobseeker’s Allowance would all be replaced under the proposals by the two payments.

Estimates from the RSA puts the cost of the scheme at £14.5bn a year if it is fully subscribed to, and a total of £462bn over 13 years, more than half of which would be paid for by government savings.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour’s shadow Treasury minister, said: “This new report from the RSA raises the right questions about the future of work and the long-term challenges we face, including making sure automation and the changing nature of work deliver a fairer, more prosperous society.”

In Scotland, piloting Universal Basic Income (UBI) schemes has been considered in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife and North Ayrshire.

According to the OECD report, if the UK were to fund UBI only with money saved by abolishing the existing benefits system it would lead to higher levels of poverty.

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