Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot statistics: August 2022 to June 2025 (management information)

The Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot came into operation from 1 July 2022 (see background and context). This data is an update to the release published on 18 September 2024, and reflects the data held regarding recipients at the pilot’s formal conclusion on 30 June 2025, as well as those who withdrew from the pilot prematurely.

This management information has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics.

• There were 644 recipients of basic income in this pilot. As of 30 June 2025, seven recipients remain in receipt of payments. This is because some individuals joined the pilot later than scheduled, so they will exit later to ensure fair participation.
• Eight young people chose to withdraw or were withdrawn from the pilot. Their demographic information is retained in this aggregated dataset as they have been recipients of at least one basic income payment.
• Eleven eligible young people confirmed their decision not to participate in the pilot and completed the non-participation forms. We are aware of others who confirmed non-participation verbally with local authorities but without submitting non-participation forms (an additional nine non-participants). No further data is recorded for non-participants.
• Taking the above information into account, the uptake rate for the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot was 97%.
• 365 recipients (57%) received their payment monthly, with the remaining 273 (43%) having opted for twice-monthly payments.
• 135 recipients (21%) opted for direct landlord payments to be made.

Demographic information

• At the point of enrolment, 340 recipients (53%) declared their national identity as Welsh. Other national identities are as outlined in the table below.

[Note 1] The grouping of national identity used above is adapted from the Census 2021 classification (UK Data Service) of national identity.

On enrolment:

• 508 recipients (79%) declared their ethnicity as White, 24 recipients (4%) were from a mixed ethnic group, 26 recipients (4%) said they were from an Asian ethnic group, 17 recipients (3%) said they were from a Black ethnic group, 48 recipients (7%) said they were from another Minority Ethnic group, and 21 recipients (3%) did not respond
• just over half of recipients (331; 51%) were male, with 281 (44%) female and 32 (5%) did not respond
• 582 (90%) of recipients reported identifying with the same gender as their sex registered at birth, 18 (3%) stated that they did not identify with the same gender as their sex registered at birth, and 44 (7%) did not respond or said they preferred not to say
• 449 (70%) of recipients declared themselves as ‘heterosexual or straight’, 26 (4%) as bisexual, 16 (2%) as gay or lesbian, with the remaining 153 (24%) either not disclosing, not knowing or stating other sexual orientations
• 415 (64%) of recipients stated that they have no religious belief. Of the remaining 229 (36%), 52 (8%) were Christian (all denominations), 55 (9%) Muslim, 122 (19%) belonged to other religions, provided no response, preferred not to say or stated that they did not know

Disabled people

At enrolment, all recipients were provided with both the social model of disability definition and the definition as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Following this, 89 recipients (14%) declared themselves as disabled people in line with either definition, 526 (82%) did not consider themselves disabled and 29 (5%) did not respond.

Self-reported health status

On enrolment:

• 146 (23%) recipients stated that they have a long-term condition that is expected to last for 12 months or more, 443 (69%) stated that they do not, and 55 (9%) either didn’t know or didn’t respond
• 541 (84%) of recipients declared their health as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’, 71 (11%) declared their health as ‘fair’, 8 (1%) declared their health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’, and 24 (4%) either did not know or did not respond

Residency

• On enrolment, 146 recipients (23%) were living in supported housing, and at least 93 (14%) individuals were living in a “When I am Ready” placement.
• As of the information held on 30 June 2025, 9 (1%) recipients were homeless or of no fixed abode.
• The Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot permitted those residing outside of Wales to participate as long as they remained in the care of a Welsh local authority. All recipients were resident in the United Kingdom at the point of enrolment, and all maintained a UK bank account to receive their basic income throughout the pilot.
• In relation to current country of residence, as per the information held on 30 June 2025, 573 (89%) recipients resided in Wales, with 66 (10%) residing in England. A further five individuals resided elsewhere.

Other specific circumstances

• Declarations of other certain circumstances were requested on enrolment to ensure that the delivery of the pilot was tailored to certain specific needs and to maximise opportunities to participate. Other circumstances, such as criminal justice matters, arose during the pilot.
• As of 30 June 2025, 16 (2%) recipients had an appointee / deputy acting on their behalf.
• As of 30 June 2025, throughout the duration of the pilot, 25 individuals had their participation in the pilot suspended for at least one calendar month or had been unable to participate due to interactions with the criminal justice system.
• Former Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) who met the standard eligibility criteria for the pilot (being a ‘Category 3’ care leaver who is looked after by a Welsh local authority) were able to participate in the pilot. As of 30 June 2025, 74 (11%) of all recipients were UASC or former UASC at the point of enrolment.
• A total of 70 late applications were received and accepted during the pilot.

The Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot provided a cohort of care leavers who turned 18 years of age between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 with the opportunity to receive £1,600 pre-tax per month for a period of up to 24 months to enable them to fulfil their aims and ambitions and build a platform for their transition from care into adult life. For further reading, a collection of webpages about the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot are available.

Data source

Figures are taken from the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot operational management information, which has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics. Eligible young people were invited to complete an enrolment form if they intended to join the pilot, with those who chose to decline the opportunity asked to complete a non-participation form. Local authorities submitted the information to the Welsh Government during the enrolment year to ensure young people were enrolled on the programme for payment. Recorded information was subsequently updated in the event of changes in circumstance e.g. change of address. The data presented here is aggregated for all of Wales and based on the operational management information held as at 30 June 2025.

Note on interpretation

All percentage figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Recipients began transitioning from the pilot from July 2024. As such, the data reported in this release reflects each individual’s data at the point of exit, or any subsequent updates received. As such, the information may not reflect the current circumstances of all individuals following their exit from the pilot. Particular caution is advised regarding the data on homelessness and residency, as these details may have changed post-pilot. Former recipients are under no obligation to update their details post-pilot.

Recipient information is as held on 30 June 2025. All but seven individuals left the pilot by this date. The management information included those whose participation was suspended at the point of their formal exit.

The uptake rate is based on the total number of recipients as a proportion of the total number of recipients plus the known eligible non-participants as of 30 June 2025. Known eligible non-participants are a combination of those who completed non-participation forms, and others who confirmed non-participation verbally with local authorities without submitting non-participation forms.

The dataset reflects the recorded information for all recipients as held on 30 June 2025. Most information was gathered at enrolment (for instance, demographic information, health status) whilst other data has been updated during the pilot (for instance, changes in residence, payment frequencies and opting for direct landlord payments). Whilst this will be the final data release published, for the seven individuals remaining in receipt of basic income, data remains subject to update should individual circumstances change. Furthermore, address and residency details for all individuals may also be updated should individuals require future correspondence, for instance in relation to their payments and taxation. More information about basic income payments and taxation is available.

Recipients of the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot were eligible to enrol for the pilot at any stage prior to and including the month of their 18^th birthday and start receiving the basic income the month following their 18^th birthday. The first enrolment month was July 2022 and the first payment month was August 2022. Those turning 18 years of age in August 2022 were eligible for first payment from September 2022, and so on. Formal exits from the pilot commenced in July 2024. Some individuals entered the pilot later than scheduled and will therefore exit later than scheduled.

For the purposes of data monitoring, the first payment month is recorded as the month a young person joins the pilot; this allowed late applications to be taken into account.

Any late applicants (defined as those joining later than the month after they turn 18 years of age) were permitted to join the pilot on a case-by-case basis to ensure that participation is maximised and that they were treated fairly when reasons for not being able to enrol as scheduled are due to matters out of their control.

‘When I am Ready’ enables young people in foster care to continue living with their foster carers once they turn 18. It allows them to remain in a stable and nurturing family environment up to the age of 21, or up to age 25 if they are completing an agreed programme of education or training. Information on the ‘When I am Ready’ residency was not reported before January 2023, so it is possible that there were more individuals living in this type of placement at enrolment than recorded.

Statistician: Nia Jones (queries about the data)
Email: stats.inclusion@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099