Abstract
New research funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) has found that a Basic Income scheme could potentially save the NHS tens of billions of pounds.
‘Treating causes not symptoms: Basic Income as a public health measure’ uses a range of economic and health modelling, public opinion surveys and community consultation to present cutting-edge evidence on the impact of Basic Income schemes.
Economic impact:
- Even a more ‘modest’ basic income scheme (£75 a week, £3,900 a year) would reduce child poverty to the lowest level since comparable records began in 1961 and achieve more at significantly less cost than the anti-poverty interventions of the New Labour governments.
- Child and pensioner poverty down by at least 60% each
- Working age poverty down by between 29% and 75% depending on the scheme
- Inequality down 55% to the lowest in the world under the most ambitious scheme
Public health impact:
- Between 125,000 and 1 million cases of depressive disorders could be prevented or postponed.
- Between 120,000 and 1.04 million cases of clinically significant physical health symptoms could be prevented or postponed.
- Between 130,000 and 655,000 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) could be gained, valued at between £3.9 billion and £19.7 billion.
- Based on depressive disorders alone, NHS and personal social services cost savings in 2023 of between £125 million and £1.03 billion assuming 50% of cases diagnosed and treated.
‘Treating causes not symptoms: Basic Income as a public health measure’ uses a range of economic and health modelling, public opinion surveys and community consultation to present cutting-edge evidence on the impact of Basic Income schemes.
Economic impact:
- Even a more ‘modest’ basic income scheme (£75 a week, £3,900 a year) would reduce child poverty to the lowest level since comparable records began in 1961 and achieve more at significantly less cost than the anti-poverty interventions of the New Labour governments.
- Child and pensioner poverty down by at least 60% each
- Working age poverty down by between 29% and 75% depending on the scheme
- Inequality down 55% to the lowest in the world under the most ambitious scheme
Public health impact:
- Between 125,000 and 1 million cases of depressive disorders could be prevented or postponed.
- Between 120,000 and 1.04 million cases of clinically significant physical health symptoms could be prevented or postponed.
- Between 130,000 and 655,000 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) could be gained, valued at between £3.9 billion and £19.7 billion.
- Based on depressive disorders alone, NHS and personal social services cost savings in 2023 of between £125 million and £1.03 billion assuming 50% of cases diagnosed and treated.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Compass Publishing |
| Commissioning body | National Institute for Health Research |
| Number of pages | 57 |
| Publication status | Published - 13 Jul 2023 |
Acknowledgements
This report stems from long-term collaboration between the authors and the broader project team examining the health impacts of Basic Income, with a project website available here. We would like to thanks everyone who has contributed to the overarching project, including all partners and stakeholders.We would like to thank the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for kindly funding the project underpinning this report: 'Understanding the prospective public health impact and social feasibility of Universal Basic Income schemes in the UK'.
We would also like to thank Northumbria University, University of York, Institut Jean Nicod, University of Bath, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam and Durham University, as well as our national organisational partners, Compass, Basic Income Conversation and Autonomy. Our local organisational partners, of which there are many, have provided an enormous amount of support to the project, including with regard to organising key research activities. In particular, we would like to thank Big Local Central Jarrow and Grange Big Local. Big Local Central Jarrow played a key part in the Citizen Engagement Workshops and both supported public and policymaker engagement, including as part of the separate, but related, Big Local Basic Income micro-pilot proposals.
This project was also supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP) collaboration, ActEarly. UKPRP is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Research and Development for Health and Social Care (Welsh government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), The Health Foundation and Wellcome Trust.
Funding
This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as part of a project entitled 'Understanding the prospective public health impact and social feasibility of Universal Basic Income schemes in the UK'.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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