The Welfare Stat, Social Inequality And Poverty

Question 1

Townsend

Answer 1

Townsend (1965) showed that in the 1960’s relative poverty was still a major problem in Britain; and still remains so today. This is due to the fact that there has been a shift from reducing poverty in the 60’s to reducing welfare costs from the 1980’s. Since 2000 the focus has been on the ageing population which has been putting growing pressure on pensions, health and social care. As a result there have been a number of cuts in this provision, the consequences of which have been seen in the recent coronavirus pandemic.

Means testing of benefits, prescription charges, dental charges, fees for university have all affected those on the lowest income most.

Question 2

The inverse care law

Answer 2

The Inverse Care Law
The inverse care law suggests that those whose need is greatest get the least spent on them and those whose need is least get the most spent on them.
Julian Le Grand (1982) argued that most welfare spending consists of universal benefits going to everyone (like state pensions, free healthcare and education)or is spent in a way that provides services from which the middle class have most to gain. For example:

Question 3

The future of the welfare state

Answer 3

The two competing views of the social democratic and New Right approach have become less of a divide in recent years. This is because all of the mainstream parties are changing. The soaring costs of the welfare state suggests that the following will be concerns for all governments in the future.
• Tackling welfare dependency
• Tackling the pension time bomb and social care costs
• Making people pay for services if they can afford them
Putting greater emphasis on provision by the voluntary and private sectors
• Making public services such as schools, hospitals, social services etc more efficient.