Labour Reforms Flashcards
Want KU
National Insurance Act 1946- introduced a compulsory weekly contribution are scheme
Provided Sickness pay, unemployment benefits and old age pension for those over 60 and a widows and orphans pension
Want Analysis
A+ first comprehensive social security system, provided a flat rate benefit and flat rate contribution, also provided for women who had been left out the previous reforms
A- Pension still required 10 years of payments to be accessed so those near 60 at the time the act was introduced couldn’t access it at 60
Squalor KU
Chronic shortage of quality housing after WW2 due to bad blitz and existing bad quality housing
New Towns Act 1946- built 14 new towns (e.g East Kilbride) to provide better quality housing for the working class
Set a goal of building 200,000 buildings per year that had to be of a good standard and were on average 1,000 Square feet
Squalor Analysis
A+ New homes provided indoor toilets, hot and cold water, electricity and gas which improved living conditions previously caused by slum housing
A- often failed to meet targets, by 1951 homelessness was higher than it was in 1931 proving the reform didn’t care for all Britons. Only built 55,000 homes in 1946 forcing people to squat in abandoned army barracks
Disease KU
NHS Act- provided free medical, dental and optical services free of charge
At the time of the Acts implementation 90% of doctors had enlisted with the service
The NHS also provided free prescriptions and hospital treatments which were all funded by taxes
Disease Analysis
A+ in its first year it provided 13.5 million prescriptions a month, 8 million dental practices and provided 5 million spectacles. It was also successful in helping deal with illnesses
A- Massive cost, in 1950 it cost £358 million which was far more than the budgeted £140 million which led to fees being introduced for prescriptions, spectacles and dental
Ignorance KU
Many children couldn’t access quality education because of financial barriers which meant they couldn’t get good employment as adults
Education Act 1944- Made it free and mandatory for children up to age 15 to attend school and provided free milk, meals and medical inspections for all children
11 year olds sat the 11+ which determined which of the 3 kinds of schools they attended, grammar, secondary modern or technical with grammar being the best.
Ignorance Analysis
A+ Provided education opportunities by removing financial barrier of school fees, 1,176 new schools built by 1950
A- Perpetuation class system as WC children often went into secondary modern or technical schools which did not get the same respect or level of education resulting in WC children only being able to access unskilled jobs
Idleness KU
Beveridge report stated that unemployment should be reduced as much as possible to alleviate poverty but doubted it could get under 3%
Nationalisation introduced and Giv take control of bank of England, coal, railways, gas and electricity
Used tax money to fund industries and used any profit to fund other reforms
Reduced unemployment to 2.5% and increased the real wage by 20%
Idleness Analysis
A+ The maintenance of high employment after the war because of nationalisation was credited as “the single most important domestic achievement of the labour government” so it helped a large number of people through good employment
A- nationalisation made these industries unmotivated because they could rely on the governments help so they were not competitive which later harmed the economy
Context
Labour government assumed power in 1945 because of a need that Britain needed a united approach to rebuilding after WW2.
Just before the election Beveridge was asked to make a report of what he thought were the biggest contributing factors to poverty that the government needed to fix to improve Britain
