Mims Davies corrected a written answer on Basic Income: Coronavirus

15 April 2020 · Commons written answer · Department for Work and Pensions

Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party, Inverclyde) asked written question 30848 on 17 March 2020. Mims Davies answered on 23 March 2020 for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Mims Davies corrected the answer on 15 April 2020. The corrected text adds the figure £6.5 billion, which the original did not give. Altogether 89 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a basic income to provide financial assistance to people affected by covid-19.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
~~As both~~ the ~~Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,~~ the ~~Government will do whatever it takes~~ to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.	We have strengthened the safety net for the most vulnerable with over £6.5 billion invested into improving our welfare system for this year. There is no intention to introduce a universal basic income.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1185807?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`2f8315119ee677028c4fa9c1db0bfd37af6f13527de9bdfc6bb614aa85d8561a`