Devolution and Social Citizenship: The Case of the Basic Income Pilot for Care Leavers in Wales

Abstract In 2022, the Welsh Government announced a basic income pilot for care leavers in Wales. This article uses this policy experiment to provide an insight into the relationship between devolution and social citizenship. This article makes two claims. First, the basic income pilot is part of an approach the Welsh Government has taken over the past twenty years to expand the idea of social citizenship to include rights to money. This is justified by a principle of progressive universalism, but this principle also has a wider UK context. Second, the financial constraints imposed by the UK Government frustrates the extent to which the Welsh Government can turn such experiments into reality.