British Depth: Liberal Reforms

Question 1

Who are three different social reformers?

Answer 1

Seebohm Rowntree, William/Catherine Booth, Charles Booth

Question 2

What book did Charles Booth write?

Answer 2

The Life and Labour of the people of London

Question 3

What organisation was set up by William/Catherine Booth and when?

Answer 3

The salvation army (1865)

Question 4

What was the attitude of the government at the time towards poverty?

Answer 4

Laissez-faire; the government shouldn’t involve itself in people’s lives- people should stop being lazy and help themselves

Question 5

What % (recorded by Charles Booth) were in poverty and unable to help themselves?

Answer 5

85% of the poor population (contrary to what Victorians at the time believed)

Question 6

What was the life expectancy for poor men and women?

Answer 6

45

Question 7

How was the wealth shared (previous to liberal reforms)?

Answer 7

The top 10% of the population owned 92% of the country’s wealth

Question 8

Who won the 1906 elections?

Answer 8

The liberal party

Question 9

When was the labour party formed?

Answer 9

1900

Question 10

What proportion of recruits in the Boer war were unfit for service (mainly due to poverty)?

Answer 10

1/3

Question 11

Who were two key ‘new liberals’ in the government in the introduction of welfare reforms?

Answer 11

Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George

Question 12

When was the free school meals act introduced?

Answer 12

1906

Question 13

What act was introduced in 1907?

Answer 13

School medical inspections

Question 14

When was the children’s act introduced?

Answer 14

1908

Question 15

What act was passed in 1909?

Answer 15

The Labour exchange act

Question 16

When was the pensions act introduced?

Answer 16

1908

Question 17

What act was passed in 1911?

Answer 17

The national insurance act part 1

Question 18

When was the second half of the national insurance act passed?

Answer 18

1912

Question 19

When was the school clinics act passed?

Answer 19

1912

Question 20

What did the pensions act provide?

Answer 20

Weekly pensions: 5 s(single) or 7 s 6(couple)

Question 21

How many were actually helped by the pensions act?

Answer 21

Only 500,000 qualified; you needed to be 70+ yrs, income less than £21/year, British citizen (or lived in Britain 20+ yrs) and not been in prison in last 10 yrs

Question 22

What limited the free school meals act?

Answer 22

It only applied to the very poorest children (158,000 in receipt by 1914) and only 1/2 Britain’s councils actually did it

Question 23

What did the national insurance act part 1 provide?

Answer 23

Workers could insure themselves against sickness & withdraw money; they could take out 10 s/week for 13 weeks, them 5 s/week for another 13 weeks, in 1 year

Question 24

Who funded the national insurance (pt 1)?

Answer 24

Workers (4 d), employers (3 d) and government (2 d)

Question 25

What limitations did the national insurance (1) act have?

Answer 25

Insurance was only for those who contributed to the fund- not their dependants, and only for those on low income (£160/year)

Question 26

What did the national insurance act (pt 2) do?

Answer 26

Workers could insure themselves against unemployment and withdraw 7 s 6 d/week for up to 15 weeks if out of work

Question 27

How was the national insurance act (pt 2) funded?

Answer 27

Workers (2 d), employers (2 d), government (2 d)

Question 28

What limitations did the national insurance act (2) have?

Answer 28

Insurance against unemployment was only for workers in certain trades where employment was seasonal (building/shipbuilding/engineering)

Question 29

What was the limitation of the school medical inspections act?

Answer 29

Treatments were recommended but were often too expensive as they were not paid for (this was solved by the free school clinics), and quality of checkups varied

Question 30

Where else did the money for the liberal reforms come from?

Answer 30

Higher taxes on the rich/land-owners (which was in Lloyd George’s 1909 budget)

Question 31

Which city did Seebohm Rowntree investigate?

Answer 31

York

Question 32

What model of poverty did William/Catherine Booth create?

Answer 32

The poverty circle