welfare provisions

Question 1

what were early 20th century ideas about welfare based on

Answer 1

-Victorian poor laws (private charity)
- liberal welfare reforms (Unemployment insurance 1911)

Question 2

what welfare measure was introduced in 1920 that contradicted Lloyd George’s ideas about welfare benefits?

Answer 2

Unemployment Insurance Act 1920
unemployment insurance was no longer slef-funding creating a state funded dole
covered 11.4 million by 1921 (up from 4 million in 1919)

Question 3

what act introduced means testing for unemployment benefits?

Answer 3

National Economy Act 1931
excluded short-term workers (shipyard workers )
created a poverty trap - workers were better off relying on welfare payment than going back to short-term work.

Question 4

what was the consequences of the National Economy Act 1931?

Answer 4

most unpopular policy under National Government
unhappy workers founded the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement which protested the means testing of benefits
hunger marches - marched from their homes to London to expose their economic depravity - most famous the Jarrow Crusade

Question 5

what was the Unemployment Act of 1934?

Answer 5

building on the National Economy Act
reversed the 105 cut on short-term unemployment benefits
continued means testing for long term unemployed but payments were lower than previously so many long term unemployed were unhappy.

Question 6

what were the effects of rationing during WW2?

Answer 6

• Could be argued to have equalised society however there were black markets that onyl certain families could afford
• state was able to improve the national diet eg. subsidised milk for small children
• 1/3 of the population that was unable to eat during the depression had their standards of living improved.

Question 7

what were the 5 evils reported in the Beveridge report?

Answer 7

1) ignorance
2) want
3)idleness
4) disease
5) squalor

Question 8

what was the Beveridge report?

Answer 8

1942
plan to reconstruct Britain after the war
advocated for universal benefits instead of means testing
both a flat rate of tax from workers and a flat rate of benefit irrespective of individual circumstance.

Question 9

what was the aftermath of the Beveridge report?

Answer 9

highly popular
used as propaganda to encourage troops to fight for Britain
Ministry of Information found that all aspects of society supported the report.

Question 10

what was the government response to the Beveridge report?

Answer 10

conservative government did not implement it immediately
Churchill was very outspoken against “excessive” welfare
HOWEVER
the post-war election would depend on who did and didn’t support the report
so all parties adopted the report in some way

Question 11

what did the 1945 Labour Manifesto say about welfare?

Answer 11

“let Us Face the Future”
economic success was needed to support social welfare
social welfare would support economic success through creating a more healthy and efficient work force.

Question 12

what was the Family Allowances Act?

Answer 12

1945
first child benefits - payable to the mother
improved the status of non-working mothers by allowing them an income independent of their husbands

Question 13

what was the National Insurance Act?

Answer 13

1946
made unemployment/sickness benefits available to all workers
a state pension to all men (>65) and women(>60)
James Griffiths - one of the main principles was universality “ from the barrow boy to the field marshal”

Question 14

what were the draw backs to the National Insurance Act?

Answer 14

disagreements between Aneurin Bevan and James Griffiths
- Bevan believed that pensions should be phased in through 20 years but Griffiths believed the already poor elderly deserved to have pensions
- the amount that the poor and rich paid was the smae so the poor paid a higher percentage of their incomes

Question 15

what was the Industrial Injuries Act

Answer 15

1946
extended workers welfare by allowing compensation for injuries and accidents at work
on average 2,425 workers were killed at work in 1940s
mining was particularly dangerous

Question 16

what was the National Assistance Act?

Answer 16

1948
- covered those not covered by National Insurance (those unable to work, unmarried mothers, disabled, homeless and elderly)
- abolished Public Assistance Committees replacing them with centralised National Assistance Boards.
- delegated almost all social welfare responsibilities to local authorities

Question 17

what was Harold McMillian’s stance on social welfare (in and out of his time as prime minister)

Answer 17

• “the Middle Way” 1938 advocated for government to end deprivation through welfare
  prime minster
• saw the upper/middle-class as having a moral responsibility to provide for the poorer
• knew that conservative cuts to welfare would make them unelectable in the 50s-60s

Question 18

what was British welfare spending like in the 50s and 60s under McMillian?

Answer 18

Britain spent less on welfare than other European countries.
cost of social welfare (% of GDP) 3%-4%
did not end poverty
Child Poverty Action Group - 720,000 children were living in poverty 1965

Question 19

what was the effect of the Labour Welfare reforms in 30s-60s?

Answer 19

didn’t end poverty but kept increasing in cost so conservative governments began to reconsider the commitment to welfare spending.