labour reforms(former assignment essay) Flashcards
Introduction
A shock victory in 1945 saw Labour take control of the country,labour then pledeged to fix the issues in the country .During WW2 a man called William Beveridge conducted a war time study on social problems in Britain. He identified five main problems Britain would have to deal with when the war concluded. These were identified in the Beveridge report. These issues were (ignorance,Diseasse,Squalor,want and Idleness
This essay will discuss Health,education,Poverty and housing
Overall this essay will argue that labour reforms did not successfully meet the needs of the British people
In
Health
k-In 1948the labour government introduced the NHS with the aim to eradicate the giant of health/Disease. The NHS had three universal goals. Treat all medical problems, free at the point of use and universal access.
k2-Under the NHS there was a range of treatments such as spectacles and false teeth.
A-This meant that people in Britain could now get healthcare for problems they had overall improving the health of people in Britain.
A+However, due to the costs of the NHS prescription charges were introduced in 1952 which undermined the part of free at the point of use.
Squalor
Another social problem labour intended on improving was Squalor, as many people did not have the sufficient standard of housing in
K-1946 labour introduced the “New towns act”. This aimed improve housing in Britain by creating new homes and towns for example towns such as
k2-Irvine and East Kilbride.
k3-The act also aimed to build 200,000 New houses every year to combat overpopulation and overcrowding
A-. This meant that people were getting away from overcrowded areas and from cities with densely populated slums to places such as the countryside where their general health could improve, and they could find a more comfortable living area.
A+However, labour often failed to hit this target of 200,000 new houses per year resulting in massive waiting lists and overcrowding problems as towns such as Glasgow were still massively overcrowded.
Evaluation
Overall labour did not address the issue of “Squalor” properly,as labour started to include pre-fab houses which were quickly made small houses constructed around Britain to replace wreckages from WW2.However many of these houses were meant to be a temporary solution (10 years)however lasted for much longer.This showing labour inability to properly address “squalor”
Education
Another social problem labour improved upon was ignorance/Education, in 1
K-1944 labour introduced the education act. This act meant the school leaving age was brought up to 15 meaning all children were getting a secondary school education.
K-Under the education act the 11+ was introduced. This was a test done at the end of primary school that decided if student were to go to senior or junior secondary school depending on if they passed.
AThis as a result meant if a student was clever/gifted they could escape poverty by guaranteing they went to senior high school therefore meaning they could set themselves up for a bright future.
A+However, deciding a child’s future at the age of 11 was seen as unfair and unjustly as most children would not have been fully developed meaning they could infect be clever just later but never get the chance to go to senior high school and as such not escape poverty.
Want
Lastly another social factor labour intended on improving upon was “want”/Poverty,
K-in 1946 the “family allowance act” was introduced. This act saw fit to give weekly payments to all mother with two or more children.
K2-the payment was 5 shillings per week for each child except the oldest.
A)This was a huge help to many families who’s father/husband that was killed at war, this meant families wouldn’t be without any money or income.
A+)However, the act stopped once a child hit 18 often forcing many children to work rather than continuing in school as the family needed money. Resulting in the continuation of poverty in many families.
Conclusion
In conclusion the labour welfare reforms 1945-1951 did not effectively deal with the social problems in Britain
Overall labour tried to help the problem of want by adding the family allowance act for single mothers, however this ultimately failed as many people were forced work at 18 when they could have continued their school journey as a result never escaping poverty furthermore the act was not allowed for families with only one child. This showing labour did not effectively deal with want/poverty.
Overall labour did try to improve disease with the introduction of the NHS and its 3 universal goals,however with the introduction of the prescription costs in 1952 due to the high costs of the NHS its clear to say that labour didn’t effectively deal with health as many people in the end couldn’t afford their prescription furthermore many of the hospitals were out of date and in poor condition meaning the treatment of patients were not as effective as could have been. Resulting in their continued worsening health.
Overall labour also tried to improve squalor/housing with the new towns act 1946 building towns and trying to build an ambitious 200,000 new houses per year. However, since labour failed to hit this target often overcrowding and long waiting lists continued meaning peoples comfort and health suffered as many big cities were polluted due to industrial work and the vast amount of people populated so close to each other,furthermore the new houses were often situated far away from individualds jobs. Suggests labour did not effectively deal with the problem of squalor/housing.
Evaluation for “disease
Overall the need of “Health”was not properly addressed as many of the NHS’s hospitals were out of date and in poor condition, this as a result meaning that treatment for patients was not as effective as it could have been. This showing that labour failed to properly address the issue of “health”
Evaluation “Squalor”
Overall labour did not address the issue of “Squalor” properly,as labour started to include pre-fab houses which were quickly made small houses constructed around Britain to replace wreckages from WW2.However many of these houses were meant to be a temporary solution (10 years)however lasted for much longer.This showing labour inability to properly address “squalor”
Evaluation for
“education”
Overall labour furthermore failed to properly address the need of “ignorance” as although labour set out building
k-plans to build new schools about 6000, during 1947/48 meaning children would get taught in better environments improving their standard of education.
k-However, children often did not benefit from these new buildings and were still taught in out-of-date buildings,
C-this showcasing labour inability to properly address “ignorance”
evaluation for
“want”
Overall labour failed to address the need of “Want” in the correct manner,
as with the introduction of the
K-National Assistance act allowing poor people to get extra financial help(2 pounds per married couple).However the government failed to account for inflation, meaning the extra financial help would not help as much over ,this showcasing labour inability to correctly deal with “want”
