Universal basic services (UBS) is an idea[1] of a form of social security in which all citizens or residents of a community, region, or country receive unconditional access to a range of free, basic, public services, funded by taxes and provided by a government or public institution.
Universal Basic Services is a development of the welfare state model. The term appeared in 2017 in press[2] and the first modelling in a report from University College London (UCL)'s Institute for Global Prosperity.[3] The British Labour Party welcomed[4] the report and announced in 2018[5] that UBS would be incorporated into the party's platform.
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 to include those elements necessary to fulfil a larger role[6] in society.
To substantiate inclusion in a UBS provision services meet at least one of these conditions:
The following table represents rationales used for the inclusion of certain services in a UBS definition:
| UBS | Material safety | Opportunity | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | ♦ | ||
| Electricity and heating | ♦ | ||
| Food and water | ♦ | ||
| Health and care | ♦ | ||
| Education | ♦ | ♦ | |
| Transport | ♦ | ♦ | |
| Information | ♦ | ♦ | |
| Legal | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ |
The specific content of any set of UBS varies according to the resources 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 and public healthcare services.
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 estimate that approximately 40% of the total world population will lack access to affordable housing by 2030.[7]
Services that support health, and services which provide for care of disabled, elderly and others.
In The Case for Universal Basic Services Coote and Percy argue for the expansion of the Care service definition to include childcare.[8]
Schooling and training.
Local transport to access other services, shops and employment.
Access to communications that enable participation in society as well as access to the other services.
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 and political system. The courts, assemblies, political salaries, civil services and other aspects of the structure of the society are included in the definition of Legal UBS.
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.
In the standardised definition of UBS the cost of the services is funded by revenues derived from income taxes, which are hypothecated to the delivery of the UBS.
Most UBS services in societies around the world today are funded out of general government revenues, such as publicly funded healthcare.
In October 2017 the Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London (UCL) produced a report[3] modelling the cost of UBS for the United Kingdom. The report modelled funding the UBS services (£42.16Bn) from a reduction in the Personal Tax Allowance.
The cost of extending public services as universal entitlements is justified through some combination of the following savings:
The two most common effects on operagraphics (labour markets) are:
UBS can lead to lower emissions, particularly through greater use of public transport.[12]