Social policy and social reforms of the IWYs 1918-1939 Flashcards
what was the nature of unemployment and what were weakenesses of the 1911 national insurance act
-unemployment in the IWYS was mass, long term and structural not cyclical
-this helped exposed the weaknesses of the orginal act which only provided 15 weeks of benefit to workers of insured trades
-the benefit was small, covered a limited time and and did not cover all workers
-married women who did not work received little help
what was the new system of national insurance established by the govt
what were the negatives
-paid a benefit to insured workers for 6 months and a benefit to uninsured workers that was subject to a means test carried out by public assisatnce committees (PACs)
-NI for healthcare was extended in ww1
HOWEVER
the main failing of the 1911 act remained, it only covered the worker and not dependents
the BMA estimated that a family of 5 needed 23s a week which excluded rent
state pensions- improvements and drawbacks
the state pension was increased from 10s but it remained means tested and small
-payable at 70
- a more generous contributory pensionwas established in 1925 and was payabale after 65 but it was based pn contributions not taxes
-women ceased to do so were reliant on the old system
how many children got free school meals by 1939
milk
-only 200,000 out of 4 millio got a free school meal by 1939
free milk did extend to 3 million+ by now
how was education affected during the inter war years
-the fishers education act of 1918 set good standards however it failed to be realised
-no govt ensured that the raising of the school age to 14 was achieved
-nursery and continuation schools were lost to the geddes axe
-the raising of the school age to 12 had led to shcools dropping nursery education as they could not afford to do both
-the number of 3-5 year olds in edcucation dropped from a high 1900
-the creation of secondary schools was lost which was opposed by the geddes axe, trade unions and employers even though it was recomended by the harlow report of 1926
-only 10% of w/c children went to secondary school
-grammar schools - selective and required fees
housing provisions during the inter war years
addisons 1919 housing act and the continuation of rent control
-progress stalled with the geddes axe
-council housing supply was determined by the subsidy provided by the govt . cons cut the subsidy which stopped councils from subsidising rents and so any housing built had high rents
-labour (wheatley) passed a reform act in 1924 with a bigger subsidy that created 500,000 new homes
-however slums remained and rent control lapsed on a change of tenancy
-over 1.6 million homes were built in 1919-1931 but only 365,000 were for workers
-greenwoods housing act of 1930 (labour), intended to clear slums but only when alternative housing was made avaliable- the subsidy was too low to build them
-the hosuing act of 1935 attempted to end overcrowding but its definition was too generous to landlords and the subsidy to alleiviate and provide better housing was limited
healthcare improvements
where did healthcare derive from
no of men and women with ni healthcare
hospital types
life expectancy increases
healthcare was determined by income, friendly society membership or national insurance
-by 1938- 63% of men and 30% of women had NI health protection but the cover was basic and it did not include hospitalisation nor extend to depedndents
-hospitals were voluntary (fee payable)
-public, local authority and free
-municipal healthcare centres grew slowly and unevenly
-life expectancy increased 1918-1938 48 to 66 for men and 42-71 for women mainly due to advances in science
what were real wages like
what was improved living standards dependent on
the post war slump meant that wages declined but with the decline in global prices caused by the wall street crash real wages rose by 17%
-ils was dependent on secure employment
what were levels of unemployment throughout the iwys
1921,31,35
what were regional variations in unemployment levels
rowntree
how many unemployment acts were passed in the iwys
unemployment was a constant problem ‘intractable million’
-1921- 11% then slighly declined until it rose rapidly to 20% in 1931 and back down to 15% in 1935
north east -20%
s wales -30%
jarrow and single industry towns could hit levels such as 50-70%
-rowntree and york in 1936 and found that 18% of its citizens experienced primary poverty with another 12% feeling lesser forms
-he argued that the poverty cycle meant that 50% of the w/c would experience poverty
-8 unemployment acts passed during the iwys yet they never solved the problem at source
where were living standard improved
regional variations
-number of home owners statistics
did positions in society really chaneg?- society resemebled an escalator moving upwards
-nee industries emerged in the midlands and in the south east (london)
-cheap money drove a housing boom and home ownership grew from 10% n 1914 to 30% in 1939
-in 1914 1% owned 70% of wealth which declined to 55% however the bottom 40% remained unchanged
leisure activities for the w/c in the iwy
(improved living standards)
-employed workers enjoyed tabacoo and cheap holidays for a weeks wages at pontins , 500,000 holidays by 1939
-radio ownership and rental increased enormously as did visits to the cinema (x3 a week)
-football became a national obsession
what was the experience of women in the iwys
-the restoration of pre war practices act 1919 dismissed thousands of women from industry in accordance with the dilution agreements of 1915 and the labour movement suppported the return of men to work
-even women who had worked in industry before the war were sacked to make way for new men
-female partcipation in the labour market increased from 1% in 1901 to 30% in 1931 mainly because of domestic services which remained the biggest employer of women at 25%
-textiles 20%, clerical work 20%
-unorganised female labour in industry suffered from poor wages but could achieve high wages if organised
-however all work experienced unemployment due to the slump
-married women were denied benefits in 1929 to lower unemployment figures
-sex discrimination act of 1919- removed legal discimination of women in professions but in practice it continued
-educational oppurtuities were limited and the majority of women only experienced an elementary education leaving at 14
-200 female lawyers in 1935 and less than 3000 female doctors
-white blouse revolution of women in clerical work
-women received 40-50% less than their male counterparts
-the marriage bar ensured that women left work on marriage and given that women married at age 30 avg they only experienced 12 years of adult work
what was the birth rate in the iwys
changing family size and impact
health of women
women in the domestic spehre
-love lives of women/sex
the birth rate declined to 2.1 live births compared to 5-7
-families became smaller, household incomes could grow but it also created more households which increased the demand o housing
-new housing and elecriticty improved the lives of women working in the domestic sphere
-an enquiry into womens health found that malnourishment meant that only a third were in good health
-marie stopes ‘married love’ -1918
-100,000 women died from illegal abortions every year (estimated)
-the majority of women indirecly benefiited from increased real wages and popular consumption subject to the success of their husbands in securing work
