Developments in Social Policy 1939-64; (complete) Flashcards
What is the post-war Attlee government (1945-51) credited with?
The implementation of the welfare state, the Butler Education Act and setting up of NHS.
Sometimes described as one of the great reforming governments of the 20th century
Why can it be said that all 3 parties made contributions to the social legislation of the post-war Attlee government?
-The Beveridge Report was drawn up by a committed Liberal, 1942 in Churchills coalition
-Publication of a White Paper and establishment of Ministry of National Insurance, 1944 by coalition
-Family Allowance Act 1945 was 1st step to implement Beveridge Report, by coalition gov
-National Insurance Act 1946 translated into law he recommendations of report + largely framed by coalition gov
-Labour gave greatest support to Beveridge’s plan for universal social security while Conservatives were lukewarm
What does Hopkins argue?
The Labour government took its led from Liberal pre 1914 gov who introduced National Insurance concept in 1911
Why did people need support from the state?
War had an impact on social policy & accelerated need for radical social change; soldiers returning home w/ mental & physical scars, some disabled and can’t work again. Wives lost husbands and children fathers.
Why was change induced & how?
1941- TUC leaders look ahead at post-war GB & put pressure on Labour ministers in coalition to make plans for balanced, inclusive insurance scheme. Arthur Greenwood (labour minister) set up committee chaired by Beveridge to consider changes that could be made- who proposed a whole new system of welfare to conquer poverty, based on social insurance backed up by free health service + employment
What was The Beveridge Report and what did it suggest/aim for?
The White Paper aka The Beveridge Report was published in 1942 & despite of heavy, official language quickly became a bestseller & sold 600,000+ copies, showing strength of feeling among politicians and public for social reform. Identified 5 giants; Want, disease, squalor, idleness and ignorance. Was an attack on ‘want’ but taken further;
-disease conquered through NHS
-idleness discouraged through full employment policy
-squalor banished by slum clearance
Suggested family allowances
Why was the Beveridge Report not as revolutionary as believed?
Ideas similar to those of the New Liberals pre 1914
Benefits at subsistence level, individualism cherished still despite increased state role
Failed to explain how unemployment level could be maintained
Has traditional family views; e.g, women not to work outside of home
Which welfare measures did the coalition introduce after encouragement from Labour?
-Extended provision of school meals & milk
-Immunisation programme for children against diphtheria
-Increase in old age pension
-Free hospital treatment for war-wounded
-Extra help to families made homeless by Blitz
What were criticisms to the Beveridge Report?
Private insurance companies feared business would be compromised
Implications of cost from conservatives
Churchill: “Unrealistic optimism about post-war GB.
Why did Attlee keep up pressure on government not to lay aside the report?
Offered a safe, secure and prosperous future for gen who lived through depression of 1930s & hardships, anxieties of WW2
What ministry was created in 1944 and what did it create?
Ministry of National Insurance, 3 White Papers drawn up on Social Insurance, Employment Policy & NHS
Why was the Beveridge report significant ?
-Comprehensive social insurance meeting everyone’s need from ‘cradle to grave’; guaranteed minimum income to those who lost income
-Everyone payed into scheme & everyone entitled to benefit; no means test
-5 evils addressed to be part of welfare state
What was the 1944 Butler Education Act and what did it do?
-Secondary education available for all children for the first time; free of charge/means test & attendance compulsory
-Piloted by conservative President of Board of Education, Rab Butler
-Went further than Fisher Act 1918; raised leaving age to 15
-Standardised system of primary and secondary education
What were the provisions of the Butler Act?
-Division at age 11 instead of all children staying at same school
-New Ministry of Education to direct local authorities to ensure secondary schools were sufficient
-11+ exam; divisive, those who didn’t pass deemed as failures
-Religion made compulsory at state schools
What were the outcomes of the Butler Act?
-Ideally, kids fell into 3 categories and educated according to abilities.
-Many parents disillusioned at 11+ exam; tensions arose as children from same family/street went to different school.
-Exam didn’t always pick out the brightest children. Grammar schools in some places differed- 45% in some and 15% in others
-Private/independent schools flourish as parents anxious their child who didn’t pass exam shouldn’t be disadvantaged later
Why was there need for social reform in 1945?
-Welfare provision still inadequate
-System uneven in coverage; thousands of workers outside of national insurance scheme
-No child allowances, maternity benefits or death grants
-Gulf in health & living standard between classes
What was the Family Allowance Act of 1945?
Paid flat out rate of 5 shillings a week for every second & subsequent child
Was thought to encourage working class o have too many children
Made welcome difference to weekly income in household w/ several kids
Taxable income; better-off families benefitted less than poor families
Feminist MP Eleanor Rathbone successfully campaigned for allowance to be collected by mothers
Further act in 1952 extended to 8 shillings a week & ALL kids still in school
Which 3 social insurance measure were designed to alleviate want + describe?
National Insurance Act 1946
Only those whom made 156 weekly contributions, limiting size of welfare ‘safety net’
Industrial Injuries Act 1946
State pensions for men disabled or injured at work
National Assistance Board setting up, 1948
Help for those who slipped through welfare net of other benefits- disabled , single mothers , prisoner family
Critique that it was set too low for people to live on
What Housing acts were implemented?
1.5m new homes built- mostly council & 1/4m prefab homes.
New Towns Act 1946- Building of major new towns around London to rehouse slum dwellers/bomb victims
By 1951- still serious housing shortage, numbers of new build fell shirt of pre-war level
Labour still had to clear war-damaged buildings , there was shortages of work and materials + funding tight
What was the unemployment rate and why was it so low?
1946- unemployment down to 2.5%, despite economic difficulties of rationing & material + fuel shortages
High # of workers needed for post-war reconstruction (US loan funding) + increase in GB export trade
Why was the NHS needed?
Health care not free
Medical cover from Insurance didn’t extend to all families
Many mothers neglected their own needs for their children
What were the oppositions to Bevan’s plans + his solution?
-Med profession believed NHS threatened independence to choose patients + dictate own fees, concerned their status would lower
-Bevan made it so consultants could keep private patients + work in NHS, basic salary payed by state but rest from private patients. Profession given central role in administration of service
Why is it difficult to assess how much of NHS success was already an ongoing process?
Although there was a noticeable improvement in general health, for decades before 1948 rates of things like tuberculosis, infant mortality and other fatal diseases were falling steadily. This was because health was also affected by outside factors like housing and diet
Why was cost of the NHS an issue?
Charges for prescriptions and dental care were implemented due to enormous demand
Became most costly item in govs budget
Why had Labour not enjoyed complete success by 1951?
-Many on right, Labour’s policies= inefficient & costly
-Some say Attlee was too cautious & too ready to compromise + missed chance to transform GB- e.g abolishing private education/medicine
-Plan to bring in universal state welfare dependent on economic policy success
How did education grow?
-Rise in secondary schools built post war
-1950- 30% of all kids in education at 15, 14% at 16 and 7% at 17. In 1913- 5.8% of 14-16 yr olds in education
-Many unis found after 1950-60, encouraging undergrads from state system
-Comprehensive schools set up in 1950
