government responses to poverty - the third way

Question 1

Time frame?

Answer 1

1997 - 2010

Question 2

Which government party was involved?

Answer 2

New Labour

Question 3

Which 2 people were primarily involved?

Answer 3

• Tony Blair
• Gordon Brown

Question 4

What was the aim of the Third Way?

Answer 4

Give people a hand up through the benefits system into becoming self-supporting citizens through well-paid and secure employment.

Question 5

Describe the process that they started?

Answer 5

They began a process back towards a more social democrat model of welfare provisions; while still retaining some elements of encouraging self help.

Question 6

What did the Third Way want to place a stronger emphasis on?

Answer 6

Tackling the problems of those pushed to the margins of society and unable to fully participate in social life because of poverty.

Question 7

What did their policies aim to tackle?

Answer 7

• Poverty
• Social exclusion

Question 8

Briefly describe their policy of increasing benefits and pension levels.

Answer 8

A minimum income guarentee for pensioners and big increases in spending on health and education.

Question 9

What was the introduction of Britain’s first National Minimum Wage policy?

Answer 9

A system of tax credits to help the lowest paid and most disadvantaged - overcame the poverty trap by making work pay more than what could be obtained in benefits.

Question 10

How was an increase in childcare and nursery education impemented?

Answer 10

All 3-4 year olds were guarenteed five half days of nursery education a week - established Sure Start Children’s Centres to help especially the most disadvantaged children to get off to a better start.

Question 11

What did the family intervention project aim to do?

Answer 11

Tackle the cycle of deprivation and the passing of poverty from one generation to the next by intervening in families where there were multiple problems of unemployment, illness and anti-social behaviour.

Question 12

What did the neighbourhood renewal strategy do?

Answer 12

Regenerate the most deprived communities and help improve the health/education of the most disadvanatged.

Question 13

Who said that ‘the labour market was restructuring and globalisation was growing - people were no longer guarenteed a ‘job for life’?

Answer 13

Giddens

Question 14

What did Giddens say in regards to the face of poverty? How and why was it changing?

• Divorce rates
• Family breakdown
• Single parent households
• Women’s employment

Answer 14

The face of poverty was changing with the increase in divorce rates and family breakdown; the growth of single-parent houeholds and growth in women’s employment.

Question 15

Give 2 strengths of the Third Way’s response to poverty.

Answer 15

1. New Labour ensured there was a stronger emphasis on tackling the problems of poverty and social exclusions.
2. Rather than victim blaming, the aim was to give people a hand up through the benefits system into becoming self-supporting citizens through well-paid and secure employment, rather than keeping them dependent on welfare-state handouts.

Question 16

Give 2 criticisms of the Third Way’s response to poverty?

Answer 16

1. They still retained some of the previous New Right approach through using a range of private welfare providers and encouraing self-help.
2. An increase in further benefit systems needs to be funded through taxation which inevitably lead to tax rises which may cause others to struggle.