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A major British city has announced it is willing to run a pilot scheme to give away cash.

It means everyone who asks would get a fixed sum each month to cover basics, regardless of income.

Finland and other countries have launched trials of UBI - universal basic income. And Labour says it will do the same if it wins power.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has earmarked Sheffield and Liverpool for pilot scheme, as we revealed last month.

Now Sheffield's Labour-run council has said: "We believe that universal basic income has the potential to improve wellbeing and provide a boost to our local economy."

A trial in the South Yorkshire city has been championed by a group of researchers and activists called UBI Lab Sheffield.

Its Chairman Jason Leman said: "We don't know if a Universal Basic Income is the answer to the problems we face but a pilot will give us the much-needed evidence about what works.

"It helps people who are looking after their family and it could also give people the confidence to retrain, volunteer or become entrepreneurs."

Backer Sam Walby added: "We need to be testing UBI right now. It's an idea whose time has come."

The cost of any Sheffield pilot would be met not by taxpayers but by an external funder.