Only yesterday, Voice of Wales wrote about a pilot programme to give all Asylum seekers free bus and train transport through the month of February and March with the potential of it becoming permanent.

Today, another pilot scheme came to light where the basic income for care leavers will be £1,600, and they will receive this monthly payment for up to two years.

The £1,600 a month payment will be taxed and is expected to be counted as income by the UK government, meaning it would affect someone’s eligibility for benefits.

The Welsh minister for social justice, Jane Hutt, said the Labour-led government was committed to supporting the most vulnerable and tackling the ‘scourge of poverty’.

The scheme, set to launch in the summer, is believed to be one of the most generous of its kind in the world and will cost the Welsh government £20m and we will see this running for  three years.

Outlining the reasoning behind the pilot, Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt said:

Our Basic Income announcement today complements the Welsh Government’s ambition to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are supported. We know we’re in the midst of a cost of living crisis and we’re determined to continually look at how best to support individuals in Wales who live in poverty.

 

 

We are fully committed to supporting those living in poverty, ensuring they receive adequate financial support so that everyone in Wales can live happy and healthy lives.

 

People of Wales and the U.K have seen the detrimental effects we now face with inflation of basic essentials due to the Covid furlough Schemes we’ve had and it falls onto the tax payer to pay off the accumulated debts occurred during the pandemic. It makes logical sense that these schemes are being introduced to ensure the people are totally reliant on their government. When we relinquish our rights we give those who govern us the right to control us.

It’s not free money. Everything comes with a price and the cost of receiving freebies will ultimately result in you losing your freedom making you reliant on those freebies, and those who are giving them to you.

It will be foolish to believe that leaders care for your well-being. They care only for control because without control they are disposable.

So, ask yourself why half of the Welsh parliament signed a pledge calling for UBI to be trialled the run up to last year’s elections.

Our NHS is at breaking point and our economy is in a fragile state, but instead of tackling those issues head on, Labour are more interested in basic income – that will cost the country an absolute fortune.”