Creating a welfare state, 1918-79

Who were the social groups who were typically considered "deserving poor" and what is this phenomenon culturally

These were people who were old, young, and sick. These people would be cared for by the, Church, private organisations, their relatives and increasingly the state. By the end of the 19th century people who fell into destitution were seen as morally at fault, therefore "undeserving". People had to prove they were worthy of welfare, this led to the existence of means testing.

When did the concept of state-wide welfare come into fruition, and who by?

1908, The Liberal Government

Was this welfare available to all people considered poor and in need of it

No, the Liberal government made welfare only available to the poorest of the poor

What kind of welfare services were made available by the Liberal government

Pensions and Unemployment insurance (only up to 15 weeks per year and only available to 6 industries)

Ministry of Reconstruction (1917-1919)

The Ministry of Reconstruction was established in 1917 under Liberal MP Christopher Adison.

This was "Not so much to rebuild society back to what was but to mould a better society out of the social and economic conditions that have come into being."

-Purpose was to work with other ministries to sorting pressing issues that came from the war such as healthcare, unemployment, housing, and education.

Why were keynes economics adopted

This was John Maynard Keynes' theory that governments should borrow in a time of recession to stimulate the demand and growth of the economy. Especially after world war 1

What was the most pressing problem for interwar governments

unemployment

Unemployment stats of the early 30s

never below 10 million (which was 10% of the workforce) between the end of 1920 and mid 1940

- peaked over 3 million in the early 1930's

-the interwar governments wanted to help the poor but prioritised making certain that the amount of money spent is not more than the amount of money received

National Insurance Scheme

- 1911 National Insurance Act

- The war undermined this scheme as many troops (3.5 million) weren't eligible for the benefits it provided, as only people who work in specified industries who could be provided with this insurance or if they have not made sufficient contributions (tax wise) to qualify

People found that the national insurance scheme needed to be redesigned as it is not favourable for the men who fought for Britain to rely on the 1601 Poor Law.

What is the 1601 Poor Law?

A law which enforces Elizabeth I's Government strategy that tried to fill the gap with the Poor Relief Act, which obliged each parish to collect taxes to support people who could not work.

The system came under strain during the industrial revolution, as people moved from the countryside into town and different patterns of employment.

Evidence that insurance does not cover unemployment struggles

Report from Ministry of Reconstruction in 1918:

"So far hardship due to unemployment is not met by insurance the government of the day will inevitably be driven back onto a system of doles"

What was the short term solution to dole money 1918-20

Renamed to out-of-work donation

issued to returning troops and then to civilians unemployed until they found work.

Unemployment Insurance act 1920

Long term solution

Because the Poor Law couldn't handle the scale of the problem and the ministers feared a revolution

increasing the number of workers covered by insurance

self-funding

two thirds of working men were eligible and the funds ran out

Pressure the government was facing over the welfare state

2.4 million workers had been striking over pay and conditions in 1919

The 'seeking work test'

The test was introduced in March 1921 to make sure the people who really needed benefits were getting them, after the Unemployment Insurance Act saw its funds being drained?

By march 1930, 3 million claims have been rejected because of this test.

1929 Local Government Act

- Local authorities made responsible for other areas of public health - venereal disease clinics, child welfare, dentistry, school medical services, school meals.

- Health authorities established in every county for the first time

1934 Unemployment Act

Separated the treatment of 'insurable' from long-term employment

Provided 26 weeks of benefits payments to 14.5 million workers

Part 2 created the Unemployment Assistance Board to help those with no entitlement to insurance benefits.

The UAB had assisted 1 million people on benefits

What had happened to the Poor Law by the late 1930's

The groups who could benefit from it had shrunk to a few groups not covered by the UAB

-Widows

-Deserted Wives

When was persistent unemployment tackled

in 1936 when huge state spending was poured into rearmament

What did historian Derek Fraser say about the human impact of mass unemployment

"Unemployment... has poisoned millions of homes have blighted whole industrial regions it has disinherited a generation; it had laid a low an elected government"

1908 Pensions Act

-State Pensions

-Poor men and women

-who had worked throughout their lives and had stayed in the UK for more than 20 years

-means tested

-did not support widows or children of the deceased

what did Neville Chamberlain (minister of health at the time of 1908) do to address the concerns of the 1908 Pensions Act

-Created a 1925 Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act

-ten shillings a week, for those aged 65-70

-funded by a compulsory contribution (individuals, employers and the state) not taxation

-unpopular with the Labour Party

-As they felt it unfairly penalised the poor however with the tough economic conditions together with an aging population

- Self employed workers men and women were allowed to join the scheme in 1937

-

Culturally what was the concern about slum-housing

-that it would cause crime behaviours and disease

-a lot of slum clearance had gone underway before 1918

-

What had the government promised returning soldiers a "home fit for heroes"

a "home fit for heroes"

The 1919 Housing and Planning Act aimed to power local authorities to use central government funds to meet housing needs

Estimated the 600,000 homes would needed to be built, only 213,000 were constructed before the recession that led to the Geddes Axe.

Housing shortage grew worse with an estimated shortfall of 822,000 houses in 1923

Cultural consequence of this was married couples had to live at home with parents

what did Historian A. J. P. Taylor say about the Housing and Planning Act

"Established the principle that housing was a social service"

How did the Conservative and the Labour part react to the need for housebuilding

Creating legislation in the form of acts "Labour/Conservative housing acts" in the years 1923 and '24

- these respectively sought to use subsidies of the government to encourage the construction of housing

- The political impact of these acts together contributed to the 1930 Labour housing act which promoted a lot of house-building

between 1919-1940 4 million homes were built in total with 1/4 of that being built by the public sector

Private sector was being funded state subsidies too

What does historian Helen Meller said about housing in the '30s

"By 1940 1/3 of all houses had been built by 1918"

The 1930 Act used state funds to rehouse people living in overcrowded areas; most of the public sector houses were built in large metropolitan cities (Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool)

Where were the 20 cottage estates built

on the outskirts of London between 1924 and '39. Connected to the centre of the city by rail

Improvements to new public housing

The new homes that came with the 30s led to indoor plumbing, gardens, but also an increased demand for domestic goods such as new furniture

-stimulated the economy and raised the average standard of living

Laws concerning rent

Post-war conservative governments wanted to remove legislation that controlled rent increases; they justified it by saying that landlords would invest more

Impact of total war on social welfare provision

The second world war led to a wide consensus that welfare provision needed a radical overhaul solutions;

This was a political will to end unfairness and inconsistencies, a cultural shift

A total war would of affected all people from all class backgrounds. This prompted total war solutions

What were the total solutions of total war

universalist (concerning all people) solution: rationing and communal bomb shelters. These policies were successful opposed to selective solutions.

Due to this universalist approach people, the sacrifices faced by the general population led to the expectation of a just reward. This being the equal distribution of resources (fair shares)

What happened as a cultural shift after the success of the universalist total solutions of war

People began to rely on the state government to intervene in people's lives to make improvements to better suit their wellbeing

Post-war what happened to the government politically

A coalition government was forced by the war

Clem Atlee and Bevin led most of the co-operation over war-time policy

The the white papers "Social Insurance" published in September 1944 which was the basis of the 1946 National Insurance Act which promoted Conservative acceptance of the act.

The Beveridge Report

Published during WWII, it suggested a social insurance program that made all citizens eligible for health, unemployment, pension, and other benefits.

By William Beveridge, 1942

- tackling the 5 giants of want

- state welfare to be centralised, regulated and systemically organised

-For state welfare to be funded by one compulsory insurance payment

Sold 635,000 copies

Family Allowance Act of 1945

- for: mothers

-no means test

-5 shillings a week

MP Elanor Rathbone successfully challenged this plan for money to be given to fathers

- policy watered down and families were given less money than beveridge wanted

National insurance act 1946

1946 Act Compulsory universal contributory system to help pay for pensions

Also included benefits the unemployed, pregnant women, the sick, and funeral expenses

The Industrial Accidents act 1948

Compensation for workplace injuries

The National Assistance Act 1948

Created the National Assistance Board (NAB) to provide help for the most vulnerable poor (single mothers, deaf, blind) who had not been covered in 1946 Act. More popular than UAB's - less rigorous means testing

250,000 more people could claim higher benefits than the previous UAB law

The NAB was renamed to the Benefits Commission in 1966

Absolute poverty

the point at which a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase food, decent shelter, sanitary products and safe drinking water to physically sustain its members

Relative poverty

Does not have enough money to enjoy ordinary living patterns, customs and activities. Defined by the average standards of society which changes as it rises and falls over time

Reasons for increasing challenges to welfare provision 1964-79

- The right wing started to question the expenses of the welfare actions the government were making

- The left wing held resentment for the government as they believed that there was not enough being done to help the poorest of society

The cost of unemployment benefits in 1939 and how it dramatically changed

went from 0.6 of gross national product (GNP) in 1939 to 5.6 in 1950 and 8.8 in 1970

The 1959 National Insurance Act

Introduced a top-up scheme based on earnings known as the graduated pension.

The 1975 Social Security Act

- set up the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme

This allowed workers to opt out of all or part of all state pension in return for lower National Insurance Payments

Gross National Product

The Value of all exports minus the value of all imports, added to the total value of goods in a year by a nation

What was the common ground between the conservative government and the labour party of between '64 and '79

Some welfare provision, espicially as the conservative government had finally provided family allowance for a first child under the 1971 Family Income Support programme

Why was the 1971 Family Income Support programme needed by society at the time

Costs of raising children increased- reasons:

-Baby booms in the late 1940s and 60s meant that more care and education costs for children

-An increase in average life expectancy between 1941 and '70 for ages 64 to 74 for women and 59 to 69 for men, meant much more care for the elderly

-New social groups in need of support emerged who had not been considered in the initial plans for welfare reform: low wage-earning families and one-parent families were the most significant of the group

-higher standards of living in general prompted demands for a higher minimum standard of life for the poorest of society

-the growing size of the welfare state required ever more bureaucracy

What was Margret Thatcher a critic of

The seemingly unstoppable growth of social welfare provision. She opposed increases in benefits payments because they encouraged a culture of dependence through the creation of "the poverty trap" and diverted funds away from wealth generation

The Poverty Trap

This is a situation where an increase in earned income leads to loss of state benefits . If the ratio of benefit loss to income gain is too high then there is no incentive to work harder or to get a job in the first place

Margret Thatcher's own words on the Poverty Trap in Signpost Magazine on the 1st of September 1959

-"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong"

-"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence"

_" You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift"

-"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves"

-You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred"

What are Peter Townsend's (sociologist ) comments on poverty in Britain in the 60s

- measures to raise low standards of living are required.

-Family allowance requires the most action by at least 3 fold

-general pensions and allowances most be introduced for the long term sick and those disabled in civil life as well as industry and war

-State maintenance allowances for fatherless families must be introduced

-Major repairs and modernisation programme for housing, schools and hospitals

-A variety of measures to save our threadbare sections of social services E.g under-doctored areas, under developed community-care services, understaffed schools and understaffed hospitals

Who resigned the Labour party after the introduction of charges for optician and dentist visits by Chancellor Hugh Gaitskell in 1951

-Aneurin Bevan and Harold Wilson

Who resigned the conservative party when his calls for savage cuts in welfare were rejected

Chancellor Peter Thorneycroft in 1958 alongside Enoch Powell and Nigel Birch

What were "friendly societies?"

"Friendly societies" were working class social welfare help groups. They provided insurance against sickness, funeral services, and social opportunities and everyone would contribute

Some friendly societies couldn't afford to support their members and they went bankrupt leaving people with no insurance whatsoever

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When was the Ministry of Health set up

1919

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When was the Local Government act that set up public health committees ran by country councils and boroughs

1929

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When was free or subsidised milk provided by local authorities to children at school

1934

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did the Government white paper "A National Health Service" accept Beveridge's argument that Britain needs the NHS

1944

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did the National Health Service Act lead to the NHS (WITH the optical and dental care)

1946

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did over 4000 people die in London smog leading to the Clean Air Act

1956

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did the Mental Health Act remove the distinction between psychiatric and other hospitals to encourage care in the community

1959

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When was the first (but unsuccessful) heart transplant in the UK

1968

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did the National Health Service Reorganisation Act become a thing and create regional healthcare bodies

1973

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When did the Health Service Act lead to the end of private healthcare in NHS hospitals

1977

The Timeline of British Health Provision: 1918-79

When was the first successful heart transplant in the UK

1979

What was visiting a GP like pre-1948

-you'd have to pay for your consultation

-you'd have to pay for your medicines

-you'd only go if it was a last resort

What was being a GP like after the launch of the NHS in 1948

They would be staggered with many sick patients who had put up with their illnesses for so long that at the announcement of a free national healthcare service GP's are so overwhelmed with the illnesses of their patients that its difficult to cope

-Most of these illnesses were dental related as it wasn't free previously

Voluntary hospitals

Hospitals funded by charitable donations

there was only 12 in London

10 in the provinces

Generous donations of wealthy donors

The other 1,100 voluntary hospitals were smaller, staffed by visiting consultants and /or GPs and less financially secure: when they couldn't accumulate enough money from donors, they went bankrupt

What did the 1929 Local Government Act do

Empowered PAC's (Political Action Committees) to take over and develop infirmaries into proper hospitals

What went wrong was that there was no timetables or compulsion to take action, with a few exceptions

Uptake was slow outside of London,

In 1939, half of all public hospitals were still Poor Law Infirmaries. The next few governments that followed after this were economy focused and lacked the political will to enforce change in the welfare sector, especially in healthcare

The impact of the second world war on healthcare

-catalyst for change

-led to nationally funded services

-growth in available beds

-national blood transfusion service (1946)

-Emergency medical service to treat military personnel and civilian causalities (1939)

-Burns that occurred in the war led to the growth of plastic surgery

-Success of the state turning around their healthcare system led to the general public appealing to Beveridge's report and inspired him to write it in the first place.

-Rationing led to Britain encouraging healthy habits

What did Aneurin Bevan do as Clem Atlee's Minister for Health

He was determined to create a centralised rather than locally ran system which led to the 1946 National Health Service Act

What were the approved societies

forced to rely on private clients for business

What happened in February of 1948 with the British Medical Association

-voted against working with the NHS

-as it would undermine their clinical independence

-in reality: most doctors were concerned about losing their income

Bevan tried to overcome this by paying doctors a fee for each patient in their books rather than giving them a direct salary which allowed GPs to retain private patients;

What happened on the 5th of July 1948

90% of of doctors (18,000) joined the NHS which angered Bevan as he felt they weren't joining for the principle and much rather the money and only gained their support by "stuffing their mouths with gold"

What happened within the first 10 years of the NHS

New drugs developed in the USA made deaths from tuberculosis fall from 25,000 to 5,000 per year

What did the programme of immunisation do following this

led to a huge drop in polio and diphtheria in the mid 1950s

-90% drop in cases of whooping cough by 1970,

-and syphilis was nearly eradicated by the 1990s

-MMR vaccine developed in 1971 (in the USA)

-Increased life expectancy from 66 for men in 1950 to 70 in 1979, and for women 71 to 75 in the same time period

Changes to midwifery

-Improved midwifery led to maternal death in childbirth to fall from 1/1000 in 1949 to 0.18 in 1970, lower than the USA.

-increased funding for healthcare helped

Disease in the 50s to 70s

people began surviving to old age in the 50s-60s so diseases like arthritis, cancer and heart disease became more prevalent. However in the 70s encouragement of a healthy diet regimen, ex and abstinence from smoking led to these diseases taking a statistical dip.

Impact of "the Pill" in Britain

-until '67 only available to married women,

-between '62 and '69 use of the pill increased from 100,000 to over 1 million

-women were starting have fewer children and smaller families

-1967 abortion act, abortion legal up to 28 weeks, carried out by qualifies doctor and if two other doctors approved.

-post-war baby boom = over

Educational reform in the 20th century

-Education compulsory in 1880 in England

-Board schools provided funding to failing Grammar and Church schools because new workers needed education to contribute to national efficiency

-By the early 20th century, only Grammar and Private schools were providing secondary education

-The 1902 education act increased the chances for working class children in return for state funding, 1000+ grammar schools offered 1/4 of their places to non-fee paying children who did sufficiently in exams

-Later in 1914 only 56/ every 1000 primary school children secured places. Secondary education was mostly for the upper and middle class

-

Gender divide before 1918

In 1904, the board of education decided that within primary schools all children would learn 3 strands of educational skills

-Humanities, Science and Domestic skills for girls

-Manual skills for the boys

The idea that boys needed a different type of education was spurred with the industrial revolution.

The idea that girls needed a different education came out of cottage industries (e.g weaving). Although there was no distinction between men and women who were in cottage industries however it was the cultural norm for men to go and pursue factory based work. Women needed these skills, if they needed a wage they would preform domestic labour for other families.

University education before 1918

Number of universities had existed for 100s of years - Oxford, Cambridge

Late 19th century - new ones (Red Brick Universities) developed in industrial cities (Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester) to teach men engineering skills for the workplace

Limited to those from privileged backgrounds - gov. funding was still low and widening participation = not priority

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Fisher Education Act raise the school leaving age and abolish primary school fees

1918

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the University grants comitee set up to administer public funding of universities

1919

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Haddow report recommend the division students at age 11 for primary school and secondary school

1926

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the education act raise school leaving age to 15 (not enforced until 1944)

1936

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Butler Education Act introduce the 11+ tripartite system and division of primary schools to junior and infant school

1944

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the General Certificate of Education replace the school certificate for those applying to university

1951

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Robbins Committee on higher education set up; final report recommending doubling the spaces at universities and expanding technological and business schools

1960

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Crowther report call for the school-leaving age to be 16 and part-time education to be for aged over 16

1963

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When was the Certificate of Secondary Education set up alongside GCE

1965

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Plowden report recommend a "child-centric" approach to education with a particular focus on primary schools

1967

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When was the Open University established

1969

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When was the school leaving age officially raised to 16

1973

Timeline: Education In England And Wales (1918-79)

When did the Education Act compel local authorities to submit plans for extension of comprehensive education

1976

Local Education Authorities

-Set up in 1902, to replace old school boards, they oversaw education within a county or borough. Schools were able to choose whether to receive funding from LEAs or directly from central government

Impact of the Butler Education Act

Tripartite System consisting of:

-Secondary Modern Schools: Mainstream education

-Secondary Technical Schools: Vocational skills

-Grammar Schools: Mainstream education + Literature, Classics, Latin and ancient Greek

Impact of the Crosland Circular

In 1965, Labour Education Secretary Anthony Crosland issued a document known as Circular 10/65 calling for universal comprehensive education. In it he stated "its the government's aim to end selection at the 11+ exam to eliminate separatism in secondary education".

Arguments for Comprehensive Education

-Grammar schools had 3x the resources of secondary modern schools. Did not promote 'parity as promised in the 1944 Education Act

-In the 1960s many secondary modern were already run-down. Comprehensive education would help children avoid these poor schools

-Pupils who failed the 11+ were condemned to a life of fewer opportunities: only the 2% who failed the exam were still in school by 17

-The 11+ favoured the middle class over working class children: very few working class children passed the exam

-The majority of the public wanted to scrap the exam