Universal basic services (UBS) are a form of

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

in which all citizens or residents of a community, region, or country receive unconditional access to a range of free, basic,

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

s, funded by taxes and provided by a government or

public institution In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

History

Universal Basic Services is a development of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

model. The term appeared in 2017 in press and the first modelling in a report from University College London (UCL)'s Institute for Global Prosperity. The

British Labour Party The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...

welcomed the report and announced in 2018 that UBS would be incorporated into the party's platform.

UBS inclusion rationale

Universal Basic Services are provided on the basis that they are necessary to sustain and enable each citizen's material safety, opportunity to contribute, or participate in the decision-making processes of their community, region or country, even if they lack any financial income. The UBS model extends the notion of a

social safety net The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...

to include those elements necessary to fulfil a larger role in society. To substantiate inclusion in a UBS provision services meet at least one of these conditions: * necessary to maintain the individual's or the society's material safety * necessary to enable the individual's personal effort to use their skills and abilities to contribute to their society, either for remuneration or not * necessary to allow the individual to participate in the political system(s) within which they live The following table represents rationales used for the inclusion of certain services in a UBS definition:

Service content

The specific content of any set of UBS varies according to the

resources Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their a ...

available to the society and their political definitions of what constitutes ''basic'' provision - see UBS Inclusion Rationale. Many societies already provide some elements of UBS, such as

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

and

public healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are ...

services.

Service definitions and examples

Shelter

Homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...

Public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

Right to housing The right to housing (occasionally right to shelter) is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International C ...

Public housing are built to provide affordable or subsidized housing for lower income earners. This is inline with rationale behind the UBS, to sustain social inclusion.

UN-Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...

estimate that approximately 40% of the total world population will lack access to affordable housing by 2030.

Sustenance

Food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

Food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

Human right to water and sanitation The human right to water and sanitation (HRWS) is a principle stating that clean drinking water and sanitation are a universal human right because of their high importance in sustaining every person's life. It was recognized as a human right b ...

Right to food The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual ...

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

Soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

Health and care

Services that support health, and services which provide for care of

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

and others. *

Publicly funded health care Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

Universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

In ''The Case for Universal Basic Services'' Coote and Percy argue for the expansion of the Care service definition to include

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

Education

Schooling and training. *

Free education Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Many models of free higher education have been proposed. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is fr ...

Public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

Universal access to education Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in colle ...

Transport

Local transport to access other services, shops and employment. *

Free public transport Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, refers to public transport funded in full by means other than by collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local gover ...

Information

Access to communications that enable participation in society as well as access to the other services. *

Freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

Municipal wireless network A municipal wireless network is a citywide wireless network. This usually works by providing municipal broadband via Wi-Fi to large parts or all of a municipal area by deploying a wireless mesh network. The typical deployment design uses hundreds ...

Public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

Legal

The Legal category UBS is a broad definition to include safety services, legal assistance and the apparatus necessary to sustain the society's

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

and

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...

. The courts, assemblies, political salaries, civil services and other aspects of the structure of the society are included in the definition of Legal UBS. *

Policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

Firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

Legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

Courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

* Social services agencies

Local service definitions

UBS are designed and delivered by governments and institutions which tailor the exact content of the services to meet the particular circumstances of the local community.

Funding

In the standardised definition of UBS the cost of the services is funded by revenues derived from

income taxes An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, which are

hypothecated Hypothec (; german: Hypothek, french: hypothèque, pl, hipoteka, from Latin, Lat. ''hypotheca'', from Ancient Greek language, Gk. : hypothēkē), sometimes tacit hypothec, is a term used in civil law systems (e.g. law of entire Continental Europ ...

to the delivery of the UBS. Most UBS services in societies around the world today are funded out of general

government revenue Government revenue or national revenue is money received by a government from taxes and non-tax sources to enable it to undertake public expenditure. Government revenue as well as government spending are components of the government budget and ...

s, such as

publicly funded healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are ...

Model costing

In October 2017 the Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London (UCL) produced a report modelling the cost of UBS for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The report modelled funding the UBS services (£42.16Bn) from a reduction in the Personal Tax Allowance.

Cost justifications for UBS

The cost of extending public services as universal entitlements is justified through some combination of the following savings: * increased productivity through greater support for deeper specialisation * substitution of cash benefits * enhanced efficiency of delivery resulting from local design and demand management * long term savings in labour costs as UBS substitute for increases in pay

Labour market effects

The two most common effects on operagraphics ( labour markets) are: # increased flexibility through enhanced access to job opportunities (e.g. transport access) # reduced upward pressure on labour rates through the substitution of direct financial cost ("social wage") ## The 2017 UCL report shows potential cost replacement of 80% of average pay for the lowest income decile

Environmental benefits

UBS can lead to lower emissions, particularly through greater use of public transport.

Criticisms and conditions

* Responsive, effective and accountable

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

– with financial autonomy – is necessary for the practical implementation of UBS * UBS startup requires some increase in real costs that need to be financed before the labour market effects that could reduce those costs are activated * UBS may be an inefficient method to cover the personal and necessarily individual living costs associated with needs such as toiletries, requiring any UBS to be supplemented by some form of

cash transfers A cash transfer is a direct transfer payment of money to an eligible person. Cash transfers are either unconditional cash transfers or conditional cash transfers. They may be provided by organisations funded by private donors, or a local or re ...

or credit system that can be used by citizens to satisfy personally specific living costs. This component could be delivered as a form of

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...

, as modelled in the UCL report, albeit at the low end of the scale within which basic income distributions are commonly proposed.

References

{{reflist Employment compensation Labor relations Public administration Public services Social security Universalism Welfare state