Thread by @Autonomy_Inst

The first official evaluation report has just been released for @WelshGovernment’s groundbreaking ‘Basic Income for Care Leavers’ pilot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🚨

We’ve pulled together some of the key findings in the thread below 👇



#basicincome #ubi buff.ly/4bPm5L0

@WelshGovernment As a quick recap…

Back in July 2022, @WelshGovernment launched their basic income pilot, focused on young people leaving care

A cohort of 18 year olds leaving care would be eligible to receive two years of unconditional cash payments, at a rate of £1280 a month (after tax) 💳

@WelshGovernment As the new report notes, this new basic income pilot was uniquely significant as the first pilot to:

- Give payments of this size 💳
- Focus on young care leavers, with 2 years of payments 📆
- Be delivered in the UK 🇬🇧

@WelshGovernment A general overview of the pilot details can be found through the link below 👇



Here we focus on new information contained in this latest report – about the participants, the professionals who are also involved, and ‘what happens next’ in the pilot 📘buff.ly/3Ie7Kd6

@WelshGovernment We now have a bit more information about these participants thanks to data collected to provide a ‘baseline’ picture – before care leavers began receiving payments 📊

This will be compared to data collected on what happens during the pilot at a later stage 🕒

@WelshGovernment What we know:

A total of 641 young care leavers signed up to the pilot – an uptake rate of 97%

36.5% had been in care for more than 7 years, with approximately 60% being in care 4 or more years.

@WelshGovernment Data shows participants are likely to have higher support needs in terms of their health 👇

They are also likely to need greater support and engagement with education and employment than the general population

@WelshGovernment Survey questions around coping financially were positive – suggesting early experiences of the scheme, or anticipation of the money to come, may have led to greater confidence in financial security than similar cohorts in England 📈

@WelshGovernment The report then looks at how the pilot will be evaluated & what we expect to see happen as it progresses:

It is expected that payments and accompanying advice will make it easier for participants to meet their basic needs and lead to more opportunities, autonomy and agency 📈

@WelshGovernment Over the three years of the pilot, information will be collected on wellbeing, financial literacy and security, community cohesion and engagement, the effects of poverty, access to labour and education markets, volunteering and life skills and physical and mental health ✍️

@WelshGovernment The report also describes how the evaluation will continue until the pilot is complete in the summer of 2025.

These are just the first insights on the evaluation! We won’t understand the full picture until the entire evaluation is complete 📊

@WelshGovernment The final section shares part of the co-production that has been involved in the pilot, sharing insights from professionals who work with the young people participating 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

The input of these professionals is key to safeguarding and delivering the pilot effectively.

@WelshGovernment It covers some of the hopes and expectations these professionals have for the pilot, as well as concerns that are being carefully managed as part of the delivery and evaluation of the pilot

They also shared some of the early impacts they noted in the early stages of the pilot.

@WelshGovernment These initial reports will be built upon with the rest of the evaluation to get a better understanding of what is happening during the pilot.

But they are an interesting first glimpse at what we’re learning and what these young people are experiencing.

@WelshGovernment This pilot is the most significant lesson for the UK’s social security system of the 21st century.

As well as examining a #basicincome it will show us the impact of guaranteeing an adequate income, removing conditions from welfare and how we can better support care leavers 📈

@WelshGovernment The full report can be found here:

buff.ly/3SGm5nu

@WelshGovernment @basicincome_uk @BasicIncomeOrg @scottsantens @Citizensincome @cbinscot @basicincome @futuregencymru