3.6 Social and welfare reforms: pressure and action, 1880-1914

Question 1

Booth

Answer 1

Investigated the nature of poverty in London

Started in 1886

Took around 17 years to complete his enquiry

Divided population into classes

Question 2

Booth’s division of the population into classes

Answer 2

Class A - 0.9% of the population, bottom of social hierarchy (semi-criminals, idlers, took on occasional work), born into this class, rarely escape
Class B - 7.5% of population, casual, low-paid worker, mostly dockers, employed on daily basis, bad mental or physical state so incapable of bettering themselves
Class C - slightly better off than Class B, but irregular nature of work meant constant struggle for survival
Class D - low incomes, but regular work, able to budget for survival
Class E & F - 51.5% of population, regular employment, paid enough to lead comfortable lives
Class G & H - lower- and upper-middle classes, 17.8% of the population

Question 3

Helen Bosanquet (COS)’s criticism of Booth

Answer 3

Objected to the social survey method developed by Booth since there was no underpinning philosophy or principle.

‘Poverty line’ was flawed since the facts it is based on were produced by the dubious survey method

Attacked statistical basis of Booth’s finding claiming it underestimated the income level of poor families

Criticised Booth’s workers who tended to rely on primary research findings like school board member and teachers

Question 4

How reliable are Booth’s findings

Answer 4

He provided many details and careful analysis in his 17 volumes, along with thoroughness but there were contemporary criticisms.
He relied on observation only, didn’t take in account income and only relied on observation when defining poverty.
Subjective and unreliable measure may lead to flaws in his investigation

Question 5

Rowntree

Answer 5

Found that 10% of York was below the poverty line, he defined as primary poverty

Collected 3 surveys of York, provided a wealth of statistical data

Started general survey 1899, published in 1901

11,560 households visited, info maintained from 46,754 people

Question 6

Rowntree’s findings of the population in York

Answer 6

28% of the population of York were in obvious need and living in squalor
Minimum wage that would be necessary for a family to live in a state of physical efficiency was 21 shillings a week
10% of the population of York lived below this poverty line and were living in what Rowntree defined as ‘primary poverty’

Question 7

What is Rowntree’s ‘secondary poverty’

Answer 7

Those who are on the brink of primary poverty, with the bare necessities of life - but without any leeway for emergencies and no savings
Death of main wager, trade slump or child’s illness could throw the family into primary poverty

Question 8

Rowntree’s ‘poverty cycle’

Answer 8

Childhood is a time of poverty, then as children grow conditions improve
They do well when they become wage earners and into their early married years
After children are born, they go below poverty line and remain there until children earn
When children are grown they will have a period of relative prosperity
After the couple gets old and can’t work, they go back under poverty line

Question 9

Helen Bosanquet (COS)’s attack on Rowntree’s findings

Answer 9

Claimed Booth overestimated level of poverty by setting poverty line too high
Rowntree himself was also aware of the flaws of his survey as it was mainly based on observation
He also claims that how he arrived at the number of people who were living in primary and secondary poverty, and how it is subjective and open to criticism

Question 10

Reliability of Rowntree’s findings

Answer 10

Although it was subjective since it was based on observations, they were consistent.
‘Primary’ and ‘secondary’ poverty were not designed to identify the poor, but to describe the nature of poverty
Poverty did not include income but identify by its nature, so a family of poor managers with a higher income than a family of good managers on a lower income would be classified as ‘poor’ when the latter would not

Question 11

Fabian Society

Answer 11

Key members- Sidney and Beatrice Webb (authors, primarily on socialism)

They held meetings, published pamphlets and lobbied politicians

1906 lobbied for minimum wage

1911 lobbied for universal health service (so people would be able to sufficiently fir to defend Britain)

Question 12

What did the first Fabian Society pamphlets aim to do?

Answer 12

Aimed at promoting social justice, generally radical in their policies than the Liberal government reforms
1906 - lobbied for the introduction of a minimum wage (to stop British companies trying to remain competitive by lowering wages)
1911 - for the creation of a universal health service that would enable the British to be sufficiently physically fit to defend and develop their empire

Question 13

What was the Fabian view of imperialism?

Answer 13

1900s - produce a pamphlet ‘Fabianism and the empire’
Maintained that imperialism should be the basis of British foreign policy as it would lead to Britain being the centre of a worldwide empire
Led to Fabians supporting the British in the Boer War - poor physical state of recruits led to Fabians advocating for the formation of a citizen army to replace the professional one

Question 14

Statistics of Boer War volunteers

Answer 14

2/3 potential recruits did not pass the basic army medical examination
Rowntree: out of 3,600 volunteers seeking enlistment in York, Leeds and Sheffield between 1897 and 1900, 26.5% were rejected as unfit, further 29% only accepted as ‘specials’

Question 15

Boer war recruitment crisis

Answer 15

2/3 men rejected, potential recruits didn’t pass basic army examination

Recruitment crisis led to economic concerns: economic competition of USA and Germany, suggested that Britain had an inferior workforce
Military concerns: Empire depended on a fit and sufficient army

Question 16

Fabian society (Boer war and the labour party)

Answer 16

Supported Boer war because small nations wouldn’t have a part in a world of empires

FS sent delegates to the Labour Party Foundation Conference

6 years later LRC sponsored candidates won seats in the election and set up as a set
separate party in Commons

Question 17

Fabians and the Labour Party

Answer 17

1900 - Fabians were active in the formation of what was to become the Labour Party
Sent delegates to the Labour Party Foundation Conference
Emergence of Labour Representative committee (LRC) - Fabian Society was affiliated along with left-wing and socialist societies

Question 18

What was the role of the interdepartmental committee on the physical deterioration, 1903-4

Answer 18

To investigate claims on the deterioration of health of the population
Found that fears of national deterioration were largely unfounded
Concluded that large sections of the urban population were undermined by poverty, ignorance and neglect
Recommended on changing public health administration, provision, improving methods and standards of personal hygiene

Question 19

Fabian Society and LSE

Answer 19

Henry Hutchinson (Derby-based Fabian) bequested £20,000, this led to the foundation of the London School of economics and political Science (LSE) in 1895

Question 20

Why were the Boer War recruitments concerning

Answer 20

There was a large amount of recruits who were unfit.
This reinforced a general concern that British working people were somehow operating at a less than efficient level, this is concerning as…
- the security of the empire required a fit and efficient army
- Britain has been the leading industrial nation in the world, the successful economies of Germany and the USA seemed to imply that Britain was somewhat inferior now

Question 21

National efficiency (referring to the Interdepartmental committee on Physical Deterioration)

Answer 21

The influence of the debate on national effciency: focused on the importance of human resources in terms of the economic and military field
(debate was sparked by the interdepartmental committee on Physical Deterioration)

Led to the making of social and economic policies and implementing them in ways the British competitors had done

Question 22

What was the debate on national efficiency

Answer 22

This debate cut across party lines
Some believed that the needs of the military was needed to help national efficiency
Others like Sidney Webb argued for social reform - a minimum standard of living was needed to national efficiency and imperial strength

Question 23

Influence of the debate on national efficiency

Answer 23

• focused attention on the importance of Britain’s Human Resources as being fundamental to national power in the economic field as well as the military one
• encouraged policymakers to look more closely at social and economic policies that were being implemented by Britain’s competitors and to calculate which were the most effective and could be implemented in Britain

Question 24

Royal commission 1905-6

Answer 24

Set up by conservative government

Question 25

Royal commission 1905-1909

Answer 25

Set up by conservative Gov for the enquiry into the the working of the Poor Laws and the best way to relieve the poor

The members were better qualified than those who participated in the Royal Commission in 1832-34

200 PL unions and 400 institutions took evidence from 450 witnesses and 900 statements were witten and analysed

Led to 2 contradicting reports in 1909

Question 26

What were the findings of the majority report

Answer 26

• origins of poverty were moral
• Poor Law should stay as the main vehicle for dealing with poverty
• Boards of guardians allowed too much relief and they should be replaced by public assistance committees
• general mixed workhouses did not deter the able-bodied poor
• should be greater co-operation between charities and those administering the Poor Law, voluntary aid committees should be set up to enable this

Question 27

Royal commission minority report

Answer 27

the origins of poverty were basically economic

a ministry of labour should be set up which would introduce and oversee public work schemes, set up a string of national labourer exchange to help the unemployed find jobs and organise a schedule of training schemes and set up detention colonies for those who were deliberately idle

the Poor Law administration should be broken up into education committees to deal with child poverty, pension committees (for elderly problems) and health problems (to deal with the poor who were sick or infirm)

Question 28

What were the findings of the minority report

Answer 28

• origins of poverty were economic
• ministry of labour should be set up to introduce and oversee public work schemes, set up a string of national labour exchanges to help the unemployed find jobs, organise a schedule of training schemes and set up detention colonies for those who were idle
• poor law administration should be broken up into education committees to deal with child poverty, pension committees to deal with the elderly poor and sick and infirm

Question 29

Beatrice and Sidney Webb’s reaction to the majority report

Answer 29

Initially the majority report were well received
Alarmed Beatrice and Sidney Webb (Driving forces behind the minority report), they were very convinced that they were right that they campaigned the break-up of the existing Poor Law.
When doing so, they gained the support of the younger generation, but risked antagonising leading politicians in both the government and the opposition

Question 30

Similarities between the majority and minority report

Answer 30

• condemned the existing system of relieving poverty
• criticised the failure of Sentra government to ensure that the local boards of guardians behaved in a uniform way when providing relief
• condemned the continuation of general mixed workhouses
• criticised the wasteful overlapping of services provided by the Poor Law guardians and local government boards

Question 31

Strengths and weaknesses of the majority and minority reports

Answer 31

strengths:
the work of the commission took over 4 years and the problem of poverty and its causes a high profile — put necessary pressure on the gov to come up with a solution

weaknesses:
the gov did not feel compelled to act on either set recommendations

those who favoured no change were greatly strengthened by the majority report, and the changes it recommended were overlooked

boards of guardians opposed the proposal that they should be dissolved, and their opposition was supported by the local government board

Question 32

What were the problems in setting up a Royal Commission that then produces two diametrically opposed reports

Answer 32

Governments do not feel compelled to act on either set of recommendations
Those who favoured ‘no change’ were greatly strengthened by the majority report, and the changes it did recommend tended to be overlooked
Divided commission stood little chance of success
However… the high profile of their investigations into the causes of poverty placed pressure on the government to come up with a solution

Question 33

What were the principles the Royal Commission established for welfare reform in the 20th century

Answer 33

• poverty as a condition was not always the fault of the poor
• government should take responsibility for improving the situation of the poorest members of society
• poor law unions and boards of guardians should be abolished and replaced by public assistance committees that would work closely with local voluntary agencies

Question 34

Liberal government 1906-1914 welfare reforms

Answer 34

Liberal gov elected 1906, it set about building new institutions that were completely operate form the Poor Law system

Old age pensions:
Canon William Blackley wrote an article in the 1878 where he proposed a compulsory contributory pension scheme

Developed by Charles Booth, who suggested tax funded pensions

By 1908 there was a general consensus was made that some form of pension scheme should be introduced and in 1909 the liberal govs proposal was put before parliament

Question 35

What did the Liberal government (elected in 1906) set out to do

Answer 35

Managed to avoid the problem of whether or not to reform the poor law by ignoring it altogether
Set about building new institutions that were completely separate from the Poor Law system
- early legislation: concerning children and the elderly
- later legislation: involving sickness and unemployment

Question 36

Where did the idea of providing old age pensions come from

Answer 36

1870s - Canon William Blackly wrote an article where he proposed a compulsory pension scheme, suggestion was prompted by the failure of friendly societies
1890s - Charles Booth developed this idea, urged the introduction of a non-contributory pension scheme where the elderly would receive a pension by right, funded from taxation
1895 - Royal Commission on the Aged Poor reported that no fundamental alterations to existing relief for the aged poor were needed - claimed that it was their fault for lacking foresight

Question 37

What did the Old Age Pensions Act 1909 aim to do

Answer 37

• pensions were non-contributory and funded from taxes
• pensions paid to men and women over age of 70, paid through post offices
• single person received. 5s a week, married couples 7s 6d, later raised to 10s
• full pensions were paid only to those with incomes of less than 8s a week; those with an income between 8s and 12s received a reduced pension on a sliding scale; over 12s had no pension
• to qualify, they had to be British citizen residents for 20 years
• pensions not paid to people who had continually failed to find work, or been in prison, or claimed poor relief in the past two years or were drunkards

Question 38

Old age pensions Act 1909

Answer 38

Non-contributory and funded by taxes

Paid to men and women over 70

A single person received 5s a week and married couples 7s 6d, later raised to 10s

Full pensions were only paid to those with incomes of less than 8s a week

to qualify one had to be a British citizen and resident in Britain for 20 years

pensions were not paid to people who had continually failed to find work, who had been in prison in the last 10 years, who claimed poor relief in the past 2 years or who were drunkards

strengths:
those claiming pensions were around 600,000, roughly the same number as the elderly claiming poor relief before the Act
cost was roughly the same
for thousands the stigma of being a recipient of poor relief was gone and so was the fear of the workhouse

weaknesses:
this did not reduce the number of elderly people receiving relief in workhouses

Question 39

How many people claimed for pensions for the Old Age Pensions Act 1909

Answer 39

Around 600,000
Roughly the same number as the elderly claiming poor relief before the act - cost was roughly the same

Question 40

Impact of the Old Age Pensions Act on elderly people in the workhouse

Answer 40

Did not reduce the number of elderly people in the workhouse
Many old people were too frail and vulnerable to take care of themselves even if they had an independent source of income
However, to many older people, the shadow of the workhouse and stigma of being in recipient of poor relief had gone, the threat of an impoverished old age also gone

Question 41

Sidney and Beatrice Webb’s approach to the labour exchange act

Answer 41

Wanted to make labour exchanges compulsory, believed that if labour could only be hired through these exchanges, the government would be able to organise the labour market to benefit the workers and economy
Unemployment insurance on a voluntary basis would be necessary

Question 42

Churchill and Lloyd George’s approach to labour exchanges act

Answer 42

Approached the problem differently
Proffered to make labour exchanges voluntary but unemployment insurance compulsory in certain trades
Chose to tackle the problem of destitution by relieving the unemployed rather than attempting to prevent unemployment

Question 43

What was the 19th century attitude to unemployment and how did it change in the 20th century

Answer 43

19th century - it was the worker’s fault, there is a lot of work available but only the feckless or idle would fail to find it, those should work in a workhouse
20th century - attitude was changing, gradually people understood that in a capitalist economy, there were bound to be periods of trade depression where people could not find work

Question 44

Why was the labour exchanges act introduced

Answer 44

Influenced by Beveridge (who was influenced by Booth, Beatrice and Sidney Webb), he believed that workers needed help to find work and support when it was not available, rather than being punished by the workhouse

Question 45

What was the aim of the Labour Exchanges Act

Answer 45

Aimed at the decasualisation of labour, passed through parliament without much dispute

Question 46

What did the Labour exchanges act do?

Answer 46

Set up a series of labour exchanges intended to help the unemployed find any work that was available
February 1910 - 83 labour exchanges opened
1914 - over 450 throughout England and Wales

Question 47

Labour Exchanges Act 1909

Answer 47

By the beginning of the 20th century people came to realise that there were bound to be periods of trade depression

Winston Churchill’s principle advisor at the Board of Trades was William Beveridge, believed that workers needed support and help when they didn’t have it, he had a clear influence on the act. which aimed at the decasulisation of labour

Feb 1910, 83 labour exchanges were open and by 1914 there were 450 throughout england and wales

Was mostly successful (though some employers were worried that labour exchanges use the excuse that those who were unwilling to work, because they were ‘still looking’ and workers worried that labour exchanges would be used to recruit blackleg labour during a strike)

Churchill and Lloyd George decided to make labour exchanges voluntary, though unemployment insurance was was compulsory in certain trades

Question 48

Outcome of the Labour exchange act

Answer 48

Some employers were afraid that labour exchanges would provide those unwilling to work with an exucse that they were ‘still looking’, some workers afraid that they would be used to recruit blackleg labour during a strike

However… it was a great success

Question 49

Trade Boards Act 1909

Answer 49

Dealt with employment in sweated trades (exceptionally low wages, e.g. lace and matchbox making)

created boards that could negotiate and legally set a minus wage for them

Weakness: though 200,000 workers were involved, no attempt was made to define what was meant by minimum wage

Strength: an important precedent had been set, wages are no longer arrived by a private agreement between employer and employee

Question 50

How did the poor struggle to insure themselves in the early 20th century

Answer 50

Illness of the main breadwinner was a major cause of poverty, many families tried to insure themselves from this
Early 1900s - 6-7 million people were insured against sickness
But many poorer people struggled to keep up with payments and during financial stress, insurance payments of any kind were usually the first to go
Poor people were unable to afford to contribute even to friendly societies, faced a grave crisis when illness struck

Question 51

Reasons for the national insurance act 1911

Answer 51

David Lloyd George - impressed by the approach in Germany’s social insurance scheme
The British system followed the German example insofar as the principle of compulsion was concerned and in making the system nationwide

Question 52

Limitations in implementing the national insurance act 1911

Answer 52

In Britain there were many existing institutions and organisations providing similar insurance support
Friendly societies, trade unions, some commercial insurance companies formed a powerful vested interest group that could have derailed Lloyd George’s plan

However… Lloyd George carefully negotiated, mollified by being designated approved societies through which payments were made

Question 53

The national Insurance Act 1911 part 1

Answer 53

illness of a main breadwinner was often the cause of poverty, in the early 1900s between 6-7 million were insured against sickness, though in times of financial stress payment insurance was often the first to go

part 1: made to support the poor when ill-health struck the main breadwinner

applied to all workers earning less than £160 a yer and all manual workers aged 16-60

employees contributed 4d, employers 3d and the state 2d per week into the state insurance scheme

payments were made through approved societies

maternity care provided and free treatment was given by a medical practitioner and drugs and medicines were free

weakness: none of the benefits were available for their families, and the £1.5 million for TB treatment was only available for contributors to the scheme

Question 54

What did part 1 of the national insurance act 1911 set out to do

Answer 54

Attempt to support the poor when ill-health struck the main breadwinner

• scheme applied to all workers earning less than £160 a year and all manual workers aged 16-60
• employees contributed 4D, employers 3d and the state 2d per week to state insurance scheme
• insured people received 10s a week for up to 13 weeks, then 5s a week for a further 13 weeks in any one year
• payments made through approved societies
• maternity care provided, one-off benefit of 30s
• free treatment was given by a medical practitioner and all drugs and medicines were free

Question 55

How was part 1 of the national insurance act 1911 received

Answer 55

Perhaps most unpopular of all liberal government’s welfare reforms even though it was arguably the most important
Most workers resented paying 4D from their wages, poorer workers were hit the hardest
Many saw it as a wage cut, there was no guarantee that they were gonna be ill and benefit from the scheme

Question 56

Treatment of TB by the national insurance act 1911

Answer 56

£1.5 million was set aside for TB treatment, but only available to contributors of the scheme, no benefits were available for their family

Question 57

How many workers joined part 1 of national insurance act scheme?

Answer 57

By 1913, 13 million workers were insured in the scheme and an important safety net was established

Question 58

The national Insurance Act 1911 part 2

Answer 58

part 2: most unpopular of the liberal govs reforms, dealt with insurance for the unemployed

no claim can be paid if unemployment resulted from misconduct

employer, employees and the state each contributed 2 and a half d to the scheme

workers could claim unemployment benefit of 7s a week for up to 15 weeks in any one year

weakness: workers resented having to pay 4d from their wages and because the payment was flat rate the poorer workers were hit the hardest

people regarded it as a wage cut for there was no guarantee that they would be ill and would benefit from the scheme

strengths: by 1913 13 million workers had been insured in the scheme and an important safety net been established

Question 59

What was part 2 of the national insurance act 1911

Answer 59

Dealt with insurance against unemployment

• employers, employees and the state each contributed 2 1/2 d to the scheme
• workers could claim unemployment benefit of 7s a week for up to 15 weeks in any one year
• no claim could be paid if unemployment resulted form a person being dismissed for misconduct

Question 60

How was part 2 of the national insurance act 1911 received

Answer 60

First applied to a small group of trades where people were generally paid well but prone to seasonal unemployment
Insurance was compulsory, 2.25 million men were insurance by the end of 1912
Not really applicable before First World War broke out in 1914 because of high unemployment
But generally, it was important as it represented insurance and that relief of poverty was a national responsibility rather than a local responsibility