Theme 2: Welfare Flashcards
1908 Old Age Pensions Act
Those 70+ received 5 shillings a week. Means tested, didn’t support widows and children
1911 National Insurance Act
Unemployment benefit of 7 shillings/week for up to 15 weeks in a 12-month period. Less than avg income (20 shillings/week)
1919 Housing and Town Planning Act
Promised ‘homes for heroes’ for returning soldiers, with local govs using central gov funds for this. 600,000 needed, only 213,000 built before 1922 Geddes Axe
Out of Work Donation, 1918-20
Given to returning troops + the unemployed. 29 shillings/week for men, 25 for women. Calculated according to family size. Continued until job found
1920 National Insurance Act
Replaced OWD, expanded 1911 scheme to include most workers earning under £250/yr (over 11mil). Increased to 15 shillings/week- still low compared to average earnings.
1921- extra allowances for wife and family
1925 Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act
Pension of 10 shillings/week for those 65+, widows, and children. Funded by compulsory contribution, not means tested
1927 Employment Insurance Act
Benefit now unlimited, provided they could prove they were seeking work
1931 National Economy Act
Cut employment benefits by 10%. Disqualified short-term workers from receiving help. Made benefits only claimable for 6 months. Introduced means-tested transitional payments to support the unemployed after 6 months
1934 Unemployment Act
Reversed 10% cut, still only claimable for 6 months and means tested by Unemployment Assistance Board
1945 Family Allowances Act
Provided mothers a non-means tested payment of 5 shillings/week for each child, except her first. Improved the status of mothers
1946 National Insurance Industrial Injuries Act
Gave workers the right to compensation for injuries. Free pamphlet sent to 14mil homes - ‘Family Guide to National Insurance’. By 1949, 50mil leaflets distributed, and 88% of those entitled to family allowances had applied for it
1946 National Insurance Act
Extended 1911 Act to cover all adults through contributions from employer, worker and gov. Covered sickness and unemployment benefit, old age pensions for women at 60 and men at 65, widows and orphans’ pensions, maternity allowances and death grants. Poor paid higher percentage of income than rich
1946 New Towns Act
Gave the gov the power to decide where new homes should be built- 14 new towns operational
1947 Town and County Planning Act
Gave the job of planning to county authorities. Required them to produce land development plans for the next 20 years
1948 National Assistance Act
Set up National Assistance Boards to help unmarried mothers, the blind, the deaf and those first joining the schemes. Filled loopholes of NIA, money provided via taxation
1949-51, Bevan’s Housing Drive
Averaged 200,000 houses a year. Protected tenants in houses owned by private landlords by introducing rent controls. Still 750,000 houses fewer than households by the end of the drive
1970 National Insurance Act
Pension rights to 100,000 people not covered by NAA. Introduced attendance allowance. Established infidelity benefit. Increased child allowance. Made rent subsidies available for low-income families
1929 Local Government Act
Created a single health authority which co-ordinated healthcare in each county/borough. Passed responsibility of poor law hospitals to the county/borough councils and allowed them to be converted into public hospitals. Gave local authorities responsibility for other areas of health, such as running of venereal disease clinics, child welfare, dentistry, school medical services, and school meals
However, by 1939, half of all public hospitals still poor law infirmaries
1938 blood transfusions
National system of blood transfusion depots established near hospitals, continued after 1946 as the National Blood Transfusion Service
1939 Emergency Medical Service
Set up to treat military personnel and civilian casualties
1941 Medical Planning Research
Group of 200 doctors supported plans for a nationwide health service
1942 Beveridge Report
Called for a national health service to deal with the 5 giant evils (ignorance, want, squalor, disease, idleness)
1944 white paper
‘A National Health Service’- influenced by Beveridge
1948 National Health Service Act
5th July - created the NHS
1967 Abortion Act
Made abortion legal up to 28 weeks if 2 doctors testified it was in the best interest of the woman
1967 Family Planning Act
From 1968, made family planning advice available to all women. Placed more demand on the NHS. By 1979, around 1/3 of women of childbearing age received free advice on family planning
1917 Lewis Report
Recommended school leaving age of 14, tier of colleges to provide vocational training, curriculum to be divided into practical and advanced instruction
1918 Fisher’s Education Act
Based on the Lewis Report. Full time education for all children up to 14. Required local authorities to provide part-time education to 18 through continuation schools. Nursery schools to be created for toddlers
1922 Geddes Axe
Barely any continuation schools or nursery schools built due to spending cuts
1926 Haddow Report
Recommended elementary schools to be replaced with primary schools (5-11) and 3 types of secondary schools (11-15) - grammar, technical, and modern
1944 Butler Education Act
Secondary education free- fees for state schools abolished. Raised leaving age to 15, granted gov the power to raise it to 16 and distinguished between primary and secondary, ending elementary education. Set of Ministry of Education to control local authorities- new system for setting teacher salaries.
Tripartite system- Grammar, secondary modern +secondary technical (70% went to secondary modern)
1945 Percy Report
Emphasis on classical studies should be replaced with science and engineering. Universities should be dramatically expanded to cater for large number of students resulting from the Butler Act
1946 Barlow Report
Confirmed far too few science and engineering students- argued for gov-funded expansion of unis
1959 Crowther Report
Recommended school leaving age of 16, county colleges for post-16, and the enabling of all pupils who were capable of taking O-Levels to do so
1963 Newsom Report
50% of children receiving poor education, recommended focus on researching teaching methods and parliament to examine links between poor educational attainment and deprivation
1963 Robbins Report
Britain being overtaken by other countries in terms of university performance. Recommended a universal national grant provided to all students with a uni place and a large increase in state funding to enable growth of uni places
1964 Council for National Academic Awards
Increased access to degree-level education, enabled non-uni institutions to award degree
Enabled launch of OU in 1969
1965 Circular 10/65
Called for universal comprehensive education. Requested LEAs to prepare plans for reorganising secondary education into comprehensive education. Ignored by most LEAs - not compulsory
1965 CSEs
Alternative to O Level, meant that more children left school with qualifications
1970 Circular 10/70
Attempted to reverse Circular 10/65. Allowed LEAs to decide the future of secondary education, independent of central gov
1973 Education (Work Experience) Act
Raised school leaving age to 16 and encouraged LEAs to set up work experience placements. Helped school leavers find work
1976 Education Act
Asked LEAs to submit proposals for making schools comprehensive. Failed to force them
1976 Yellow Book
Suggested progressive education methods caused harm to teaching, school discipline had declined and school curricular didn’t prepare students to have a productive role in the economy
