The Birth of the British Welfare State 1945-51

Flashcards about the birth of the British Welfare State, the National Health Service, and Education reforms, covering key concepts, figures, and impacts.

What is a ‘welfare state’?

An ideal model of provision where the state accepts responsibility for comprehensive and universal welfare for its citizens.

What was the main element added to the welfare state in the 1940s?

Health services

What was the period immediately after World War II widely seen as?

The beginning of the ‘golden age’ of the welfare state in western Europe.

What did the Manchester Guardian proclaim regarding the reforms of the 1940s?

‘The ending of poverty’

What did The Times celebrate regarding the reforms of the 1940s?

‘The virtual abolition of the sheerest want’

Which Liberal Government introduced state old-age pensions and national insurance?

The 1906–11 Liberal Government

Name two Acts that were major reforms to the welfare state in the ‘Beveridge era’.

The National Assistance Act (1946) and the National Health Service (1948)

According to Beveridge, what was the objective of the welfare state reforms?

Freedom from want, disease, idleness, squalor and ignorance

What were the findings of Hatton and Bailey regarding Rowntree’s assessment of the impact of welfare state reform on poverty?

Rowntree had overstated the impact of welfare state reform on poverty.

What percentage of working-class households in London were in poverty, according to Hatton and Bailey (1998) if Rowntree’s 1936 poverty line was used?

22.2%

What did Beckerman and Clark (1982) estimate regarding the social security system in 1961–63?

The social security system removed 84.3% of the pre-benefit poverty gap.

What was the role played by ‘Charley’?

Cartoon short film character played in reels before the actual films in cinema at the time to advertise new reforms such as NHS/Schools/Welfare system by government (a form of propaganda)

In what year the National Health Service (NHS) was created?

1948

How was the NHS primarily funded at its inception?

Mainly by general taxation (88% initially) but also by National Insurance Contributions (12%).

What was NOT covered by the NHS, remaining the responsibility of local authorities and means-tested?

Social care

Who was Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan?

The Minister of Health in the 1945 Labour government, responsible for establishing the National Health Service.

How did Bevan manage to overcome the British Medical Association's (BMA) opposition to the NHS?

By granting doctors a fee for each patient, allowing consultants to retain private patients in NHS hospitals, and introducing pay beds.

What percentage of doctors joined the NHS one month before the launch date?

90%

What was the significance of Bevan's decision to nationalise hospitals?

It made the profound difference in the structural change brought about by the creation of the NHS.

What was the cost of the Cold War and Welfare State to warrant not transforming education?

Was huge

Who was Ellen Wilkinson?

Minister of Education, a fringe figure in the Labour Party

What was Butler Act of 1944?

It was implemented

What was NOT a Labour key target?

Education reform

What was seen as a ‘giant’ in the Beveridge Report?

Ignorance

The Education Act 1944 and Scottish Education Act 1945 were major extensions with?

To working-class children’s access to education

What system the Acts created that reflected and reiterated Britain’s rigid class structure?

Butler Act/ Tripartite System

What are the 3 kind of schools made with the Butler Act of 1944?

Grammar school, secondary modern school, and secondary technical school

What was the purpose of the Eleven Plus exam?

Determined which secondary school a child of age 11 would attend at the end of junior school

Name 3 university colleges that became autonomous post-war.

Nottingham, Southampton, and Exeter