News – Governments must act to deliver a minimum income guarantee for all

A new report says both Scottish and UK Ministers should be asked to deliver a Minimum Income Guarantee with the potential to draw a line under poverty once and for all.

The new report from the Poverty Alliance comes as hundreds of organisations across Scotland are taking part in Challenge Poverty Week.

The idea of a Minimum Income Guarantee has already been welcomed by the Scottish Government, who have created working groups involving civil society and all parties in the Scottish Parliament to explore how Scotland can move towards delivering it using devolved powers.

The interim steps recommended to Scottish Ministers in the report include:

• increasing the value of the Scottish Child Payment.
• strengthening Fair Work conditions for employers wanting public grants of contracts.
• expanding funded childcare for low-income households.

In addition, the new report from the Poverty Alliance, ‘Drawing a Line Under Poverty’, recommends that Scottish campaigners should also push the new UK Government to follow suit.

Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly said: “We organised a series of events and talked to all kinds of charities and campaigners about the Minimum Income Guarantee. We found widespread support and enthusiasm for the idea of giving people the security and freedom they need to build a decent life for themselves, and a better society for all of us.

“The election of a new UK Government creates new opportunities for change and innovation when it comes to tackling the injustice of poverty in our wealthy society. People want our political leaders at Holyrood and Westminster to build a country based on justice and compassion, and a Minimum Income Guarantee has the potential to deliver that.

“Devolution was supposed to be about testing out different ideas, and scaling up those that have value. The UK and Scottish Governments can work together to develop the Guarantee in Scotland, with a view to rolling it out across the whole of the UK.

“This new report sets out what we learned during our Minimum Income Guarantee events, and we hope it marks the start of widespread public and political support for this exciting new approach to social security.”

The Minimum Income Guarantee idea was first promoted by the IPPR think tank in Scotland. The majority of people would reach the Guarantee level through paid work, with Government supporting employers to pay real Living Wages, and provide flexible Living Hours. The Government would also create a strong foundation of public services to reduce people’s living costs and lower their barriers to employment – such as extended universal childcare, affordable transport, affordable housing, or a social tariff on energy bills.

For people who can’t work because of sickness, disability, or caring responsibilities – and those who do not reach the Minimum Income Guarantee level through their paid work - there would be a social security payment, tailored to meet their individual needs.

The Scottish Government’s Expert Group is expected to publish its final report on the Minimum Income Guarantee later this year. The Poverty Alliance says the Scottish Government can, and absolutely must, make a substantial contribution to the delivery of a Guarantee in Scotland within current powers and that today’s report is a potential roadmap to making the Guarantee a reality in Scotland, outlining the initial steps towards delivery.