Windows of Opportunity 

21st December 2023

Universal basic services

“The concept of universal basic services (UBS) is based on the premise that the first job of good government is to make sure everyone’s basic needs are met. This is often best achieved through collective services rather than individual market transactions. The UBS framework sets out clear criteria that public services should be fulfilling:

• Free or affordable access according to need, not ability to pay.
• A mixed economy of provision, bound by a set of public interest obligations.
• Guaranteed fair pay and conditions for service workers.
• Environmental sustainability built into the design and delivery of services.
• Devolved powers to the lowest appropriate level.

This framework provides a basis to reimagine the design and delivery of ECEC provision as a universal public service that can better meet the needs of children, parents and staff, while making a positive contribution to the economy, society, and environment in which it sits”. (1) 

“Why universal basic services?  The UK is wealthy, but for many people it is not prosperous. Our economy is failing to deliver for many people. Forces of anger and resentment have entered our politics, as a growing number of people are left behind.” (2) 

UCL suggests universal basic services should cover: 

• Transport
• Food
• Information 
• Local democracy 
• Health and care
• Shelter 

A report published by the Social Prosperity Network at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) in 2017 estimated the cost as being  £42bn  (2.3% of UK GDP) which it said could be funded through changes to the Personal Allowance making it fiscally neutral. It would bring most benefit to,those on the lowest incomes saving them £126 a week in living costs. (3) Equally it would contribute to a healthier, both physically and mentally, workforce.

Anna Coote writing for Taylor and Francis Online comments: “Proposals for UBS have been closely informed by the experience of public services in the UK, where government policies since the 1970s have chipped away at the postwar consensus and at the value of benefits in kind. Changes have been driven by a vision of economic success based on personal choice, private ownership, a small state, and a free market, blaming the jobless and poor for their own troubles and urging individuals to help themselves. Many services, including care for children and disabled adults, as well as housing and transport, have been outsourced to for-profit corporations, stripped down to the bare bones, abolished altogether, or left to the vagaries of voluntarism and philanthropy. Combined with cuts to the value of social security benefits, the effects have greatly exacerbated social and economic inequalities and left more than a million living in destitution.” She goes onto say “The case for UBS rests on two key principles: shared needs and collective responsibilities. It recognises that all human beings have the same set of basic needs that must be satisfied in order to survive and thrive, think for one’s self, and participate in society.” 

Coote also sees in the provision of universal basic services, the concept of sustainability as proposed in Kate Raworth’s theory of Doughnut Economics. “[T]he concept of UBS embodies an ethos of collective responsibility and a needs-based approach to human welfare, based on sufficiency. As such, it offers a robust framework for policy and practice that is closely aligned with the goal of living well within limits. It seeks to build solidarity and mutual support among people and groups in ways that cannot be achieved by systems based on market transactions alone. By encouraging an awareness of interdependence and developing practical experience of collective responsibility, UBS can help to create favourable conditions for society to “play a pivotal role in imposing limits” on individual freedom to consume more than is required to live a good life.” (4)

Universal basic services is good not just for the individual and society, but also for the environment.

(1) https://neweconomics.org/2023/11/a-fair-start-for-all?link_id=10&can_id=a3029987c1ac6171de26390e6aabf63f&source=email-news-from-nef-the-budget-property-taxes-childcare&email_referrer=email_2123509&email_subject=news-from-nef-the-budget-property-taxes-childcare

(2) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/igp/research-projects/2023/jul/universal-basic-services

(3) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/ideas/bartlett-review/future-welfare-universal-basic-services

(4) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2020.1843854