Jarrow & East Finchley Basic Income Pilot (Big Local Basic Income micro-pilot proposal)
A proposal, developed by the UK think tank Autonomy and Northumbria University with two local 'Big Local' community partnerships, for an unconditional basic income micro-pilot paying 15 residents of Central Jarrow (North East England) and 15 residents of the Grange area of East Finchley (London) £1,600/month for 24 months, plus a control group. Announced with a June 2023 report, it received extensive UK media coverage and in-principle support from the Mayor of London, but the estimated £1.64-1.66 million never secured full funding. As of 2026 no payments have been made and Grange Big Local (the East Finchley sponsor group) wound down in 2025 without the trial launching.
UBI, Basic Income Micro-Pilot, Two-Site Proposal, Unfunded, Big Local, Community-Led, Northumbria University, Autonomy Institute
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- The Autonomy Institute (in partnership with Northumbria University); locally proposed by Big Local Central Jarrow and Grange Big Local
- City
- London
- State / Province
- England
- Country
- United Kingdom
Contact
- info@autonomy.work
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 30
- Funding type
- Research Pilot, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- GBP
- Total Amount
- 38,400 GBP (≈ $51,176.39)
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,600 GBP (≈ $2,132.35)
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Benefit details
As proposed, each of 30 selected participants (15 in Central Jarrow, 15 in the Grange area of East Finchley) would receive an unconditional £1,600 cash payment monthly for 24 months (£38,400 total), with no work requirement or spending conditions. A matched, non-recipient control group would be recruited in both areas to complete surveys, focus groups and interviews for evaluation, and would be paid for their time. The two sites share an identical proposed benefit design (amount, frequency, duration, unconditional structure) but are organizationally distinct pilots run by separate community partnerships. Neither site was ever funded, so no payments have actually been distributed and no distribution mechanism was operationalized.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
As proposed, participants would be adults (18+) living in the two target catchment areas - the Central Jarrow ward (South Tyneside, North East England) and the Grange area of East Finchley (London Borough of Barnet) - selected via random/stratified sampling from a pool of local volunteers so the cohort would reflect local demographics. A matched control group would be recruited from the same areas. No income, employment, or household eligibility thresholds were published; selection criteria beyond age and area residency were not finalized because the pilot was never funded or launched.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Geography
- Countries covered
- United Kingdom
- Cities covered
- Jarrow (South Tyneside), East Finchley (London Borough of Barnet)
- Counties covered
- Tyne and Wear (Jarrow site), Greater London (East Finchley site)
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
As proposed, both the payment recipients and the control group would be required to participate in a mixed quantitative/qualitative evaluation (questionnaires, focus groups, interviews) designed and coordinated by the Northumbria University research team, using validated protocols developed with community co-production; control-group members would be compensated for their research participation time.
Application Process
- How to apply
No live application process exists; the pilot was never funded or launched. As proposed, participants would have been randomly/stratified-sampled from a pool of local volunteers recruited through the Big Local Central Jarrow and Grange Big Local community task forces, not through an open application form.
- Selection process
As proposed: random or stratified selection from a volunteer pool designed to reflect local area demographics, plus recruitment of a matched non-recipient control group from the same communities. This selection process was never executed because the trial was never funded.
