British Society - Welfare Reforms

Question 1

What did the poor people have to depend on?

Answer 1

Private charities or on state established system of poor relief

Question 2

How did charities help poor people?

Answer 2

Gave money, clothes, food, sometimes accommodation, helped abandoned children who were begging and starving

Question 3

How many charities were there by 1905?

Answer 3

700-800

Question 4

Why were some charities set up specifically to help children?

Answer 4

Were future generation, lots were begging and starving. High amounts of starvation deaths

Question 5

What was the poor law?

Answer 5

Workhouses - provided food and shelter. Humiliating - Giving up responsibility for family and yourself

Question 6

What did the rich people not know about the poor people?

Answer 6

Unemployment wasn’t their fault in most cases. Wages were too low

Question 7

What effect did low wages have on poor people in terms of the long term?

Answer 7

Dreaded unemployment, sickness and retirement. Unless they had relatives willing to look after them

Question 8

How did the Salvation Army help the poor?

Answer 8

Turned them away from ‘sin’ (illegal activities), gave out food and water, had training centres, labour exchanges, farm and brickworks

Question 9

What did Charles Booth find out about poverty?

Answer 9

Was a greater problem and 31% lived below the poverty line instead of 25%

Question 10

Which were the 4 classes Charles Booth classed poverty in?

Answer 10

Class A - Lowest, criminals 1.25%
Class B - Casual earners, part time 11.25%
Class C - Occasional earnings, hit by depressions 8%
Class D - Low wages. Can just stay alive

Question 11

How did Seebohm Rowntree help the poor?

Answer 11

Was a Quaker, gave a lot to charity, treated workers well

Question 12

What 2 types of poverty did Seebohm Rowntree believe there were?

Answer 12

Primary poverty - Families didn’t stand a chance no matter how hard they worked
Secondary poverty - Living on the edge. Could just survive

Question 13

What did Booth and Rowntree both find out after their investigations?

Answer 13

Poverty hadn’t been solved and was greater than ever. The victorian idea that poverty was the fault of the poor themselves was simply not true

Question 14

Describe Seebohm Rowntrees’ poverty line (PP = Primary poverty)

Answer 14

As they’re young - under PP, as they marry - Above PP, Have children - Below PP, Children earn - Above PP, Children leave and labourer retires - Below PP

Question 15

Describe William Booths’ Circle of Poverty

Answer 15

In middle - Those who live by crime, those who lives by vice, starving and homeless honest poor, those who had secure jobs

Question 16

What did the New Liberals believe the state should do?

Answer 16

People should be free to work out own solutions and state should provide framework so everyone could live in freedom and security

Question 17

Who influenced the new liberals?

Answer 17

Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree

Question 18

Why did the new liberals feel sorry for the poor?

Answer 18

Because they believed the new understanding that the poor were rarely to blame for being poor. Some of them could never lift themselves out of poverty

Question 19

What did some local authorities provide at the end of the 19th century?

Answer 19

Provide clean piped water to all houses, connected them all to sewage systems, lighted and cleaned streets.

Question 20

What did the Boer war show about the British population?

Answer 20

Thousands of British people were unfit and could’t pass medical examination.

Question 21

Why was the fact that the British population unfit to fight in the Boer War a problem?

Answer 21

Increasing competition between Ger and USA who had skilled workforce - need to protect empire

Question 22

Why was the Liberal party afraid of the Labour party?

Answer 22

New policies were popular among poor people who were the majority

Question 23

How did the Liberal party help children?

Answer 23

Free school meals which a lot of them needed. School medical inspections. School clinic - Help parents pay for treatment

Question 24

How did the Children’s Charter/ Children’s act help children?

Answer 24

Became protected. Children >14 couldn’t be sent to adult prisons, Juvenile courts set up, Children >14 not allowed in pubs, Children >16 not allowed to buy cigarettes

Question 25

How did the Labour Exchanges act help unemployed people?

Answer 25

Easy accessible place to see if you could get a job. More efficient for people seeking work and workplaces seeking people

Question 26

How did the first National Insurance act help people and how much did the worker, gov and employer have to pay?

Answer 26

Workers paid 4d, employers paid 3d for each worker, Gov paid 2d for each worker. If a worker paid ill they got sick pay

Question 27

How much did sick pay pay workers for how long?

Answer 27

10s a week for 13 weeks, 5s for 13 weeks after that

Question 28

What was an added bonus to the first National Insurance act?

Answer 28

Workers in he scheme got free medical treatment and maternity care

Question 29

How did the second National Insurance act help people and how much did the worker, gov and employer pay into the scheme?

Answer 29

Jobs where there was seasonal unemployment e.g. shipbuilding were given unemployment pay. Workers, employers and Gov paid 2d into scheme

Question 30

How much did the unemployment pay in NI II for how long?

Answer 30

7s 6d a week for up to 15 weeks while unemployed

Question 31

How did the pensions act help elderly people and how much did someone receive?

Answer 31

Everyone over 70 could claim a state pension. One person received 5s, married couple received 10s

Question 32

Did the Liberal reforms help all poor people?

Answer 32

No

Question 33

How did the pensions not help poor people?

Answer 33

Only 500,000 were over 70, not been in prison for the last 10 years, have an income >£21, were British citizens

Question 34

How did National insurance act not help poor people?

Answer 34

Only helped people on low incomes and who made contributions

Question 35

Why did the House of Lords oppose the new reforms act?

Answer 35

They were all rich land owners who would be paying for them

Question 36

What did the rich people think would happen if they introduced these reforms?

Answer 36

People would become lazy

Question 37

Why were the pensions controversial?

Answer 37

The people that received pensions didn’t have to pay for it. Money came from taxes

Question 38

Why did the new liberals introduce the social reforms?

Answer 38

Were philanthropists - cared about people’s welfare. Boer war. Gain voters over the labour party. Industrial + international pressure

Question 39

What was the outdoor relief?

Answer 39

Benefits. Payment in cash/goods/services. Lowest of low