Essay - Liberal Reforms Flashcards
Factor: poverty in children
K Many children were at risk of poverty as their parents were too poor to care for them adequately. An education act was passed in 1906(provision of meals), because the government believed it was unfair to teach hungry children.
A successful as 158,000 children were receiving a free school meal by 1914 and improved health of children and lowered number suffering malnutrition
A+ however, limitations being children’s health deteriorated in school holidays
K another act passed (1907 education act). Made medical checks in school compulsory. Successful in identifying common childhood problems. By 1912 school clinics set up to provide free but limited treatment
A+ act had some omissions. Basic inspections and overlooked many problems, and only helped in identifying issues than treating as parents couldn’t afford treatment.
K (1908 ‘ children charter’ passed). Made children protected persons and made them have different legal rights to adults. Also banned children buying alcohol and tobacco and introduced better juvenile court system
A important as recognised children shouldn’t be treated or punished like adults
A+ act did not eliminate child abuse nor did it prevent kids getting hold of alcohol or tobacco as in many communities it was hard to enforce this.
E Overall the acts passed to tackle the problem of poverty in children had some success as they established the principle that the government had a responsibility to provide for children’s welfare and they also took important steps forward in improving the health and wellbeing of children. However they worked better in identifying issues rather than solving them. Had they wanted to address these, then the priority would have been housing, which was largely ignored by the Liberals, but which was identified as the most significant cause of poverty. The reform that had the greatest impact was the provision of school meals, which encouraged better education and better health, especially once medical inspections were also introduced into schools.
Factor: Poverty in the old
K In 1908 the pensions act was passed. This provided a pensioner with up to 5 shillings a week to people over 70 if they meet certain standards. by 1914 almost a million people a year were claiming there pension
A - provided them with a source of income. And by 1914 almost a million a year claiming there pension
A+evidence by booth and rowntree showed that the poverty line was 7 shillings a week, so the pension only really worked for individuals who already had money previously saved up, which many of the poorest didn’t have. Also not many people lived to the age of 70 so only a limited number of people benefited from this act.
E Overall, although the pensions were inadequate and had harsh qualifying criteria, they represented an important shift away from the principles of laissez-faire, and towards a collectivist approach to welfare – indeed their non-contributory nature laid the foundations for our modern welfare system. The elderly themselves welcomed the scheme, which also removed the stigma of claiming help by issuing pensions at the post office
Factor: workers at risk Cos of poverty
K - 1911 the National Insurance Act was passed. It provided sickness benefits, funded by the government, employer and employee and which would help workers if they were too ill to work and unable to earn a living to support themselves and their families.
A It was successful to an extent as if a worker was off sick they received 10 shillings a week for 26 weeks
A+ However poverty remained due to the fact that many workers caught contagious diseases which lasted longer than 26 weeks, which left them with no source of income.
E Overall the national insurance act was successful in that it provided financial assistance to help workers who suffered from temporary sickness, but it was limited as it only provided direct help for “breadwinners” and did nothing to deal with wider health issues among the british people. However, whilst there were clear deficiencies with the act, it provided the precedent of a contributory scheme to protect against absence through illness, and the principle of ‘ national insurance’ was to become the cornerstone of funding for the welfare state after WWII.
Factor: Poverty in the unemployed
K thank People who were unable to find work were at risk from poverty and were unable to support their families. In 1908 the labour exchanges act was passed which helped to lower unemployment rates.
A This was more efficient than the previous way of people finding jobs by walking around, and by 1912 they had helped over 560,000 workers find work
A+ employers were not required to inform the centres of vacancies and most of the jobs advertised only offered temporary employment, so the exchanges did little to solve long term unemployment.
K Meanwhile, the 1911 National Insurance Act (Part 2) also tried to tackle the problem of poverty caused by unemployment. Insured workers were entitled to 7 shillings a week for up to 15 weeks (but after that relied on the old Poor Law)
A+ however, only 7 trades which suffered from seasonal unemployment were covered, including ship building, construction and engineering. In addition many low paid workers resented having their wages cut further by having to contribute to the scheme, claiming that it was like paying extra tax
E Therefore the reforms passed to tackle the problem of poverty due to unemployment offered temporary relief, but failed to eliminate the problem of poverty.
