ADV INFO - The Beveridge Report Flashcards
Who was William Beveridge
a social policy expert
what was William Beveridge appointed to
he was appointed to head of a committee charged with investigating social security in Britain
What did the report identify
5 evils that prevented people from bettering themselves
what were the 5 evils caused by
want, ignorance, squalor, idleness and disease
What was want caused by
poverty
what was ignorance caused by
a lack of education
what was squalor caused by
poor housing
what was idleness caused by
a lack of jobs or the ability to gain employment
what was disease caused by
inadequate health care
What did the report say the system would need to be if they were to resolve these issues?
comprehensive, universal, contributory, non-means-tested and compulsory
when was there real hope that the reforms could come in
the election of the Labour government
What is the main aspect of Attlee’s legacy?
the NHS
Which areas did Labour make real improvements
want, disease and squalor
which areas did they fail to resolve the issues of
ignorance and idleness
What had the national debt risen to be the end of the war
£3500 million
what did Labour introduce for older citizens to help with economic hardship
they introduced a pension for women at 60 and men at 65
What was the issue with the pensions
they were simply not enough to live on and remained well below basic subsistence levels
What reduced the value of the pensions
they were greatly reduced by the inflation at the time (2.75% in 1945)
what is the overall evaluation of pensions
these did little to solve the issue of poverty, providing little support to those who had retired and relied on their pensions for survival
what was the issue with pensions in reference to the Beveridge Report
they did not fulfil the comprehensiveness that was argued for
What did the Labour government pass in 1946 to deal with want
The national insurance act
what did the national insurance act do
it created the structure of the welfare state
what did the national insurance act extend
the 1911 national insurance act
what did the national insurance act introduce
it covered all adults with national insurance and putting in operation a comprehensive contributory scheme, pleasing much of the requirements set out by Bevin
What did workers get in return for their weekly contribution
an individual was entitled to sickness and unemployment benefit, a previously not supplied privilege
what further solved the issue of want
the introduction of pensions and maternity and death grants
Who was the minister of national insurance and what did he say
James Griffiths - “it was the best and cheapest insurance policy offered to the British people, of any people anywhere”
What did Labour establish to cope with the poverty caused by unemployment
the National Assistance Board
what did the national assistance board do
it helped those that were unemployed who were unable to pay enough contributions to qualify for full benefit, allowing those in need to apply for further assistance
What was different about the new means test
it was not as intrusive as the draconian methods employed in the 1930s.
There were further improvements made
the family allowance act
what did the family allowance act
they attacked household poverty and supported the mother of two or more children
what was the Industrial Injuries Act and when was it passed
1946 - it introduced compensation paid by the government to those injured during labour.
However, what was the issue with Industrial Injuries Act
it was not universal, possibly limiting its success
Who identified the causes of poverty 50 years previous
Seebohm Rowntree
what were the causes of poverty
old age sickness, injury at work and unemployment
What were Labour able to do
remove the fear of falling into poverty, as had been the state of mind of many prior to their reforms
what is the overall conclusion about want
Labour successfully tackled it
What did Labour believe was necessary in order to solve the evil disease
they saw it necessary to provide universal access, comprehensive and free at the point of use
what was the long term issue with the NHS
it became a victim of its own success
how was the NHS a victim of its own success
it became an enormous expense for a government with a lack of money
What was the issue of national insurance for healthcare
it was contributing a lot less than had previously been expected. It only contributed 9% of NHS funding in 1949
where was the rest of the money for the NHS coming from
general taxation
How much did the NHS cost in 1950
£358 million
What was Labour forced to backtrack on
the principle of a free service by introducing charges for spectacles and dental treatment
what was the issue with the labour backtrack
it limited the universality and comprehensiveness of the reforms
what was the issue with the NHS from within the healthcare industry
doctors feared “being treated like civil servants”, scared of making less money than they had done from private healthcare
What has the NHS been described as
the greatest achievement of the post-war Labour government
What was healthcare like prior to the NHS
healthcare had to be paid for, apart from half the male workforce who were entitled to assistance due to various insurance schemes
Who did not qualify for free healthcare prior to the NHS
wives and family did not qualify, meaning they had to rely on support from friends, neighbours and local charities
what did the NHS provide
free access to GPs, specialists, dentists, spectacles, false teeth and maternity and child welfare services
how much did prescriptions rise by
from 5 million a month before the NHS to 13.5 million in September 1948
what happened in the first year of the NHS
5 million spectacles were dispensed and 8 million dental patients were treated
what happened to life expectancy between 1945 and 1971
male life expectancy went from 65 to 70 and female life expectancy went from 70 to 75.
what happened to infant mortality at the time
it went from 38 deaths per 1000 births in 1945 to 4 deaths per 1000 births in 1990
what was the NHS overall
“the greatest single achievement in the story of the welfare state”
Overall what did Labour do to disease
they successfully tackled it
What did Beveridge say was required to solve the evil of ignorance
an education system was required to provide opportunities and develop talent
what was Labour’s solution to the issue of ignorance
the tripartate system
what was the tripartite system
the splitting up of the education system into grammar schools, secondary moderns and technical colleges
what was the issue with the education system prior to the Labour government
it was incredibly variable, often being of a low standard
how much education did most children get
many received no education past primary education, as many could not afford the fees that were charged by many secondary schools
What was passed in 1944 in reference to education
the Butler Education Act
what did the Butler Education Act 1944 do
focused on equality of opportunity it allowed working-class children who had the ability to perform with education it raised the leaving age to 15
what decided what school people would attend
the 11+
What was the issue with the 11+
having people’s whole education, and thus their future, based on one test was an inefficient and unfair system
What was the issue with the tripartite
it was unequal and selective
who were the majority of people who got into grammar schools
of a middle-class background
what did the school system turn into
a class-based system
What were secondary moderns mainly filled with
people from a working-class background
What happened to the secondary moderns
those in them became disassociated from education due to them “failing the test”.
How did the educational system go against the Beveridge report
it was a system in which the middle class would benefit more than those who were not as well off, providing better education for those who could afford to perform well was certainly not comprehensive and universal
What did the education system do little to break
the cycle of poverty
What was teaching like in the system
it was much better in grammar schools than in the secondary moderns
What were the regional differences in education
in some areas, it was a 50/50 split between secondary modern and grammar but in other areas, it was just more of an imbalance
What were the reasons for the educational failures
lack of understanding
What was the educational background of the Labour party
leaders like Attlee, Dalton and Cripps were from a public school background
what did the educational background of the labour party do to their educational policies
there was a lack of empathy for those in the working class
What is the overall conclusion of the Labour attempts to reform education
they failed to solve the evil of ignorance
what was a key contributor to the housing shortage
the destruction of 700,000 houses by Hitler’s bombs, resulting in 1/3rd of British houses needing repair and renovation by the end of the war.
what did Labour outline in their manifesto
they would “proceed with a housing programme with the maximum practical speed until every family in this island has a good standard of accommodation”
what was Labour’s housing aim
200,000 new houses each year
who was given the task of sorting the issue
Aneurin Bevan, the minister of health
what was scarce
resources and materials
What was the proportion of houses between 1945 and 1951
there were 4 council houses built for every private house
Who did Labour provide a lot of accommodation to
to those who were in most dire need, tackling the evil of squalor at the centre of all its issues
what did labour build with the limited resources they had
pre-fabricated homes (PREFABS)
how many houses were completed in 1946, 1947 and 1948
55,600, 139,600 and 227,600
what was passed in 1948 to try and solve the issue of squalor
the New Towns Act
what did the New Towns Act 1948 do
gave the government the power to decide where new towns should be built
By the end of the Labour government in 1951 how many new towns had been established
14, including Glenrothes and East Kilbride
why were the industrial plans unsuccessful
the economic condition simply did not support it
Where were materials like timber imported from?
Sweden and America at high prices
what do Labour’s achievements pale in comparison to
their conservative successors, with the new housing minister (Harold Macmillan) completing some 300,000 houses a year in the 1950s.
What was the issue with the houses built by Macmillan
they were not of a high standard
What happened to the housing shortage
it remained chronic despite the efforts of the Labour party
What shows the true extent of how bad the housing shortage was
the squatting crisis of 1950, in which families would find any building that was empty and use it as accommodation.
Overall did labour solve the issue of squalor
no
What were Labour desperate to avoid
the unemployment events of the 1920s and 1930s
Who shared Labour’s view on unemployment
the Conservatives, who issued a white paper in 1944 accepting the need for full employment
when did unemployment reach the one million mark
during the fuel crisis of 1947
what did the broadening of the educational system mean
fewer people were in the position for employment
what did the rise in the school leaving age do to employment
unemployment figures dropped automatically
What two things coupled together made unemployment lower
a mixture of an increase in world demand, due to countries needing to restock to amend the damage of the war, matched with the devaluation of the pound, which saw British exports becoming much cheaper
What happened to the British car due to the devaluation of the pound
the British car became 30% cheaper compared to the figures throughout the war
What did increased demand due to employment
it led to greater employment through no reform of the Labour government
What did Beveridge say about unemployment
it could not get below 3%
how did the Labour government defy Beveridge
unemployment reached 2.5% by 1946
What did unemployment drop to
1,514,000 at the start of the war to 253,000 by the time Labour’s government ended in 1951
how did the 1st post-war chancellor, Dalton describe their approach to unemployment
“the greatest revolution brought about by the Labour Government”
How was Labour able to control and manage the economy and thus assist unemployment
nationalisation
What were Labour able to do through nationalisation
keep interest rates down, control inflation and encourage private investment
What was carried out without affecting the economy
the demobilisation of troops
What happened to unemployment in the northeast
they fell from 38% in 1938 to 1.5% in 1951
What did the historian Brooke say
“the single most important domestic achievement of the Labour Government was the maintenance of full employment after the war”
overall, were the labour government successful in solving the evil of idleness
yes
what was the issue for many children in the secondary modern schools?
Children attending secondary modern schools were unable to take public exams such as the school certificate.
how was bevin isolated from the labour party?
he had to place fees and charges for glasses and dentistry due to the high amount of demand
what series of compromises did Bevin agree to in order to gain the support of doctors
- consultants were allowed to continue working privately and were allocated beds in hospitals for private patients
- GPs were able to avoid being paid the local authority’s salary
- regional health boards were appointed and were dominated by consultants.
who ran the NHS from the outset
privileged groups
how did Bevin describe the concessions he made to the doctors
they had stuffed their mouths with gold
what were the three tiers of service provided by the NHS
- hospital services, A&E and inpatient treatment from serious illnesses
- primary care - GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists all operated as independent contractors
- community services - health visitors, vaccination services, health education
what did Bevan say about the NHS in 1952
when we consider the great discoveries in medicine that have revolutionised surgery and the treatment of disease, the same pattern appears. They were made by dedicated men and women whose work was inspired by values that have nothing to with the rapacious bustle of the stock exchange
