Wales basic income: Pilot will give care leavers £19,000 a year

Image source, Getty Images

The basic income experiment will start in Wales on Friday.

500 18-year-olds will be offered £19,200 a year before tax by the Welsh government.

The care leaver said the cash would be a safety blanket for the young people.

The scheme could cause more problems than it solved, according to the Welsh Conservatives.

The money in the scheme is in line with the living wage, so officials will look at it to see if it can help the kids.

Care leavers are more likely to be homeless and have mental health issues.

The basic income idea is being tested.

The cash offered by the Welsh government is the highest in the world, according to the Welsh government.

The Welsh government hopes that the UK will disregard the scheme for both benefit and tax reasons.

Once tax is taken into account, it works out to be around 1,300 a month.

Those who will benefit are care leavers.

The scheme will be helpful according to her.

I would like to study youth work. The scheme will help out financially and allow me to do things I wouldn't be able to do.

She said that she was fortunate to have the support of the foster family, but that there were some care leavers that did not.

She wants to save some of the money so that she won't have to spend it on food. It can help me buy things for my studies if I am in university.

She said the money would be a safety blanket and she was very lucky to be participating.

Since she was young, she has been in care.

She said that a lot of her income will go on rent as she moves out. She also wants to save some of it.

"I'm applying for anything at the moment, I want to get a job."

She said the money would make a big difference.

Rhian, who will not receive the money herself, was one of the people who helped put the pilot together.

She said that care leavers are often limited in the amount of support they can get.

It will give people who are turning 18 this year a jumpstart to what real life is.

Young people leaving care and turning 18 between July and June will be offered the scheme, which will cost around 20 million dollars.

If the "promises that are set out for basic income have been realised in practice", the pilot could be used as the basis for arguing for a scheme of a wider scale.

He said care leavers who receive the cash will be able to make decisions that will help them in their futures.

Advice and guidance will be given to care leavers for up to two years.

We end up spending a lot of money trying to pick up the pieces when young people are left to their own devices.

The money you would have spent later on is put to better use by investing in those young people's lives.

Image source, Getty Images

Around the world, basic income schemes have been tested to see if they work better than welfare systems.

Supporters of the "universal basic income" concept say it could help avoid "benefit traps" where people lose money if they go into work.

When it becomes harder to find work, backers say a basic income could help.

Experiments have been done in several countries.

Welsh ministers announced plans to test out the promise of a basic income in 2021, but they were criticized after it was revealed they wanted to focus on care leavers.

Young people leaving the care system often face challenges in finding a stable home and getting a job if they don't have a basic income.

When the Welsh government announced its plans, they stopped calling it universal.

The impact of the project will be looked at by researchers in the fall.

500 are expected to be eligible, but involvement will be voluntary so take-up may be smaller.

The Welsh Labour government did not get the support of the UK government to create the welfare scheme.

It's been proven time and again that universal basic income doesn't work.

We know that this is a vulnerable group, and they need extra support, but we don't think this is the right way to go about it.

It's obvious that giving out free money will not be a quick fix.

The plans were welcomed by the economy spokesman.

The positive effect this will have on the lives of those taking part is something we are looking forward to.

"As we begin this pilot, it's important that Welsh government makes clear how they will support the care leavers taking part in this pilot not just during it but also after the trial is over."