Welfare state-Unit 2.1

What welfare provision was provided pre-1918?

-Victorian Poor laws

-Workhouses

-1911 Unemployment Benefits

What were the victorian poor laws?

Where a poor law guardian levied a poor rate on local landowners to support workhouses

What were workhouses?

social service for elderly, sick,destitute, often attached to factories and many had infirmaries

When were workhouses closed?

1929

How many were covered by the 1911 benefits act?

4 million workers(10% of working population)

What was the rate provided from the benefits act(1911)?

7shilling a week, 15 weeks per year

When was the first unemployment act introduced?

1920

What was the ‘public dole’ introduced by the unemployment act (1920)?

an public fund used to cover mass unemployment (particularly during Great Depression)

Why did DLG introduce the unemployment act (1920)?

fears widespread poverty would encourage revolution

How many people were covered by the 1920 unemployment act? How many weeks did it cover?

11.5 million , 15 weeks

When was the national economy act introduced? By who?

1931 by Ramsay MacDonald leading the national government

What did the National Economy Act introduce

-6 month cap on benefits

-introduced a ‘means test’ for after the 6 months

Why was the means test a heavily resented piece of legislation?

-provided a meagre amount of money

-allowed for an individual to have no savings or valuables

-unemployed parents would lose benefits if working age child lived with them

Why was there a poverty trap in 1931?

people earned more on benefits than working

What was the national protest of 1932?

3000 unemployed men marched to London to demand an end to the means tests

When was the second unemployment act?:

1934

What did the 1934 Unemployment Act do?

-reversed 10% cut in benefits too short term unemployed

-created the unemployment assistance board (provide benefits to long term unemployed)

Why did 300,000 recipients of long term benefits protest in south Wales?

rates were lower, cut in long term benefits

What were the ‘standstill regulations’ (1935)?

-they suspended the cut in long term unemployed rates

What did the 1935 standstill regulations represent?

Popular pressure protecting welfare provision

What was the 1936 Jarrow Hunger March?

Impoverished people marched to London to protest welfare provision

Unemployment dropped from 20% in 1933 to what in 1939?

9% in 1939

What did Britain’s major parties conclude at the end of the 1930’s ?

State had a significant role in providing employment benefits

What was evacuation?

moving children out of major cities towards the countryside to protect them from bombings

How many children and teacher ‘guardians’ were evacuated during the first evacuation in 1939?

1.5million children +100,000 guardians

Who led the evacuation authorities ?

Home secretary Sir John Anderson

Why did the evacuation authorities not cater for children?

assumed families and private charities would

What forced the evacuation authorities to provide children with essentials and social workers?

learning that poor children were left without spare clothes, bedding or food

Why did evacuation bring the classes together?

poor children went to wealthy rural areas, brought together parts of society

When was food rationing introduced?

Jan 1940

How many eggs was an individual allowed a week?

1

what was introduced to buy varied goods like coffee, fruit and biscuits?

a points system

What campaign encouraged Britain’s to grow their own veg?

‘dig for victory’

What happened to alcohol and tobacco during the war?price of beer?

-not rationed but in short supply

-price per pint doubled

When was clothes rationing introduced?

1941

How many coupons were people entitled to a year?

66

How many clothing coupons did it cost to buy a ladies dress?

11

Why was washing difficult in the war?

coal+ fuel heating restrictions

Where did the wealthy buy un-rationed goods?

on the thriving black market

which newly founded committee helped subsidise milk and heating fuel to mothers with children?

Food policy committee (led by Atlee)

How did rationing equalise society?

-everyone felt like they made a sacrifice

-w/c ate healthily

-improved British diet

What portion of the British population had living standards improved during the war?

1/3

Who ordered the Beveridge Report?

Churchill

When was the Beveridge report published?

1942

What were the 5 evils of society identified by Beveridge?

-Squalor

-ignorance

-want

-idleness

-disease

what did the Beveridge report suggest?

-state should take over the responsibility of peoples lives

-advocated for universal benefits, rejecting 1930’s means tests

What did the Ministry of Information discover about the report?

-it was extremely popular across Britain

How many copies of the Beveridge Report were sold?

635,000

Why were British overseas troops sent copies the Beveridge Report?

to fight for a better Britain

Unpredicatably which newspapers supported the Beveridge Report?

Telegraph and Times

Why did Winston Churchill not implement the Beveridge Report?

He was against excess welfare

What did the Beveridge Report and WW2 create?

The post-war consensus, the election was fought over the reports findings with all parties adopting the report to a varying degree

What was Labour’s 1945 manifesto?

‘let us face the future’

What quote used by Churchill was used to describe the states involvement in welfare?

‘from the cradle to the grave’

When was the Family Allowances Act introduced?

1945

What did the Family Allowances Act introduce?

Weekly payments to unemployed mothers so that they gained an income (the first child benefits)

How many shillings did the Family Allowances Act provide per child?

5 shillings

What % of eligible mothers applied to the Family Allowances Act?

90%

When was the National Insurance Act introduced (Atlee’s)?

1946

What did the National Insurance Act (1946) introduce?

-Unemployment+ sickness benefits to all workers

-state pensions to all men over 65 and women over 60

-created universality

What was the weekly charge of the national insurance act (1946) on workers?

25p

How much pension a week did the 1946 National Insurance Act entitle a married person too?

over £2.00 , less if a single person

What were the drawbacks to the 1946 National Insurance Act?

Rich and poor paid the same, poor paid a larger % of their income

When was the Industrial Injuries Act introduced?

1946

What did the Industrial Injuries Act provide?

Right to compensation for accidents and injuries in the workplaces

Why was mining a particularly dangerous workplace in the 1940’s?

Accounted for ¼ of all deaths

When was the National Assistance Act introduced?

1948

What did the National Assistance Act (1948)do?

Offered welfare to those not covered by the national insurance act (who did not work) including: the homeless, unmarried mothers, disabled and pensioners in poverty

Who did the National Insurance Act delegate responsibilities to?What were these responsibilities?

Local authorities, they had to provide accommodation, welfare and provide voluntary groups and facilities to help those in need

When was the NHS introduced?

July 1948

Why did Harold Macmillan continue the welfare consensus?

-he had been an early conservative advocate ( advocated for a ‘middle way’ during the Great Depression)

-Didn’t want a return of widespread poverty

-Believed u/c and m/c had a moral responsibility

-knew cuts would make con’s unpopular

How % did pensions rise by in the 1950’s?

3%

Why did some people question the effectiveness of the welfare state in 1965?

almost 800,000 children still lived in poverty