I propose to take Questions Nos. 613 to 617, inclusive, together.
The Programme for Government contained a commitment to request the Low Pay Commission to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government.
The Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce report titled Life Worth Living, was published in November 2020 and made ten recommendations for the sector. The recommendations included a proposal to pilot a universal basic income scheme for a three-year period in the arts, culture, audiovisual and live performance and events sectors. The Taskforce considered that a pilot basic income would keep the sector intact, minimising the loss of skills and contributing to its gradual regrowth, with ongoing benefits: social and economic, local and national.
Over the past 50 years or so, basic income pilots have been carried out at varying scales in some of countries including the US, Germany, Italy, Finland and the Netherlands. Under the French intermittents du spectacle system, an actor or technician who works for 507 hours in 10-and-a-half months gains benefits for the fallow periods between intermittent contracts.
I believe the arts sector represents an appropriate area for a pilot basic income scheme for many reasons. It is characterised by low, precarious and often seasonal income. Artistic and creative work is intrinsically valuable to society; it includes a broad mix of employment types and it has been chosen for similar pilots in other jurisdictions.
Action on a pilot basic income scheme will not come primarily from my Department. Like many financial supports before and during the pandemic, appraisal of the proposal will be a matter for relevant Government Departments. I am at present establishing an Oversight Group to report back to me on outstanding recommendations made by the Taskforce and I will be asking the group to prioritise consideration of the Taskforce's recommendation in relation to a basic income scheme.