LIFE in deprived parts of Scotland would be transformed by the implementation of a citizen’s basic income, according to the country’s former chief medical officer, Harry Burns.

Burns, who is now a member of the Scottish Government’s council of economic advisers, said such a scheme would reduce crime, boost educational achievement, and cut unemployment.

The Scottish Government is currently working with four councils to fund research into the possibility of paying a citizen’s income, which gives a flat-rate payment to all adults.

Writing in our sister paper the Sunday Herald, he said: “ The Scottish Government’s programme for 2017-18 indicates a wish to explore the impact of a citizen’s basic income scheme in Scotland.

“The papers describe such a scheme as ‘untested’. In fact, it has been tested and it works.

“While it will cost money to set up, ultimately it will deliver considerable benefits to society and the economy, in particular as young people become more likely to succeed at school, get into employment and avoid going to jail.

“Inequality in life expectancy in Scotland continues to widen, as it has done over the past five or six decades.

“Inevitably, some of the money raised through taxation will go to the NHS to deal with the health consequences of income inequality.

“It is time we also started to deal with the causes, and a basic income policy will transform life in deprived parts of Scotland.”

Burns said that towns in the US that had trialled the scheme in the 1970s found that the number of people admitted to hospital dropped, while there was an increase in high school graduations and a fall in the number of low birthweight babies.

“These improvements were achieved by ensuring all citizens had a basic level of income, providing security and allowing them to feel more in control of their lives,” he said.