Scotland has taken its first steps towards creating a basic income level for all citizens in a bid to tackle inequality.
Creating a minimum income guarantee for Scots was a key SNP manifesto pledge before May's Holyrood election and the Scottish Government is now examining how to make it a reality.
Social justice secretary Shona Robison will host the first meeting of a new steering group tasked with driving forward the bold plan with the aim of reducing poverty.
The SNP minister has launched a consultation on how exactly the policy will work but admitted it "will not be easy" and would not "happen overnight".
The government hopes it would provide an assurance that everyone would have enough money to live a dignified, healthy and financially secure life.
Robison stressed that an income guarantee would not be a mechanism to keep wages low, with employers being expected to play a role in reducing poverty.
While there is no exact detail on how it could work, the guarantee is not expected to simply be an additional social security payment or a top-up of existing benefits.
It could be met through a combination of employment, tax relief and social security benefits and also services in kind, such as childcare and transport.
Robison said: “We are committed to progressing the delivery of a Minimum Income Guarantee, which could be revolutionary in our fight against poverty. It is a clear demonstration of our ambition and aspiration for Scotland.
“The policy is innovative, bold and radical. It reflects our clear desire to do everything with our limited powers to deliver the change needed, using every lever at our disposal."
“Eradicating child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country must be a national mission, not just for the government, but our parliament and broader society.
“We recognise this is a cross-government responsibility and we are focused on working together to push forward poverty reduction in Scotland.
“We must look at ways of maximising household incomes from work and social security, as well as reducing costs on essentials including services such as childcare.
“Introducing a minimum income guarantee will not be easy and it will not happen overnight, but there is a willingness to deliver on our ambition.”
The steering group will be co-chaired by Russell Gunson, director of the Institute for Public Policy Research in Scotland.
He backed the creation of a minimum income guarantee in a report published earlier this year.
Gunson said: “A minimum income guarantee could transform the lives of people across Scotland, setting an income floor in Scotland beneath which no one would fall.
“To build a fairer and stronger Scotland following Covid-19 we will need to think big ideas in Scotland and think just as big on how to implement them.
“The steering group is a great step, bringing cross-party representatives and experts from across Scotland together to shape a minimum income guarantee and make progress on delivering it."
To sign up to the Daily Record politics newsletter, click here.
.png?w=600)
