Welfare State Flashcards
When was the NHS founded
1948
What is welfare?
Aid given to those who need it
What is a welfare state?
Universal support from the cradle to the grave.
Who were considered the deserving poor?
Can’t work, disabled, young, too old, unemployed, circumstances that are not your fault.
Who were considered the undeserving poor?
Choose not to work, working age, able bodied, lazy, scrounger - fear that they will become dependent on the state for help.
What was the preferred method of paying for welfare?
National insurance - contributions from working people - pay in to get something out.
What is a social service state?
Minimum of support offered to those without independent means of survival. Onset economic problems meant that hopes of a welfare state was undermined.
What was peak unemployment?
3 million in the 1930s
What was set up to establish the welfare state?
Ministry of Reconstruction
Why was the 1911 National Insurance Act Set up?
Unemployment benefits
How many soldiers were there after WWI?
3.5 million
Why could many soldiers not claim benefits?
A) not worked in one of the specified industries or B) had not made sufficient contributions.
What was the Dole?
Paid out of general taxation with no link to individual contributions
What were the fears with the dole?
It would upset the budget
Where were funds diverted from?
More productive use
What was issued to returning troops and civilian unemployed?
“Out of work donation”
What precedent did the out of work donation set?
Government accepted a duty to adequately support the unemployed and it provided more money for family dependants.
What was passed in 1920?
Unemployment Insurance Act
What did the Unemployment Insurance Act do?
Developed as a longer term solution - increasing the number of workers covered would make the scheme self funding.
What was the issue with the Unemployment Insurance Act?
Timing of its passage - war slump began to bite - huge number of eligible claimants drained the fund
How many workers claimed?
2/3
What happened in 1921?
Government had to make extended payments - which were basically dole payments.
How many workers took part in strikes in 1919?
2.4 million
How did the government limit the expense?
1921 - seeking working test
How many claims had been rejected by March 1930?
3 million
When was the Local Government Act passed?
1929
What was set up?
County and borough councils had to set up Public Assistance Committees
What power did PACS have?
Means-test claimants
How many people faced reduced or rejected claims?
400,000
What was passed in 1934?
Unemployment Act
What did the Unemployment Act do?
Separated the treatment of insurable and long term unemployment
How many people received 26 weeks of benefit payments?
14.5 million
What was set up to help those with no entitlement?
National Unemployment Assistance Board
How many people were assisted in 1937?
1 million
What was passed in 1908?
The Pension Act
What were the criticisms of the Pensions Act?
Poor men and women who had worked through their lives - criticism that they were means tested and did not support widows or children of the deceased.
What was passed in 1925?
Widows and Orphans act
Who introduced the Widows and Orphans Act?
Neville Chamberlain
What did it do?
Provided a pension of ten shillings a week for those aged 65 to 70, and provided for widows, their children and orphans
How was the Widows and Orphans Act funded?
Funded by a compulsory contribution rather than by taxation.
How was the act criticised?
Unfairly penalised the poor
When could self employed workers join the scheme?
1938
What act was passed in 1919?
Housing and Town Planning Act
What did the Housing and Town Planning Act do?
Aimed to empower local authorities to use central government funds to meet housing needs
How many houses were estimated to have to be built?
600,000
How many houses were built before the recession?
213,000
What was the house shortfall in 1923?
822,000
What acts were passed by Labour?
Labour Housing Acts 1923/1924 and 1930
What did the Housing Acts do?
Sought to use subsidies to encourage the construction of private and state-owned housing. Promoted a great deal of housebuilding.
How many houses were built between 1919 and 1940?
4 million homes - one million in the public sector
How many of all houses had been built since 1918?
1/3
What did the 1930 act use?
State funds to rehouse people living in overcrowded areas.
How many houses were in the Becontree estate?
258000
When was the new ford factory built?
1931
When was the Beveridge report?
1942
What were the five giants?
Ignorance, Idleness, Disease, Want and Squalor
Why did Churchill lose the 1945 election?
Disregarded the Beveridge report
Which aspect of the Beveridge report did Labour reject?
Idea that it should be through contribution - they adopted pay as you go.
What act was passed in 1945?
Family Allowance Act
What did the Family allowance Act do?
Non-means-tested - 5 shillings a week - each child other than first. Successfully challenged original plan to give the money to fathers.
When was National Assisstance Act passed?
1948
When was the National Insurance Act?
1946
How many households received the Family Guide to National Insurance leaflet?
14 million
How many leaflets had been distributed by 1949?
50 million
What act was passed in 1948?
Industrial Accidents Act
Who were against welfare?
Right wing politicians
What was the fear?
People would become dependent and lazy
What did Thatcher say?
Encourage those who can make money to make money and everyone else will be fine.
What did Keith Joseph say?
State was the enemy of individual freedom
What was another fear?
Welfare perpetuated poverty - poverty trap
How much did welfare cost in 1939?
0.6% of GNP
How much did it cost by 1970?
8.8%
What was the deficit in 1964?
8 million
What was inflation in 1970?
13.4%
What was welfare cost in 1966?
5% of GDP
How was welfare inefficient?
Government would always spend money less efficiently than private business
When was the Selsdon Meeting?
1970
What was the Selsdon meeting?
“Quiet revolution” - reform the welfare state - union reform, ending subsidies for national industries and ending state control of wages and prices were proposed.
What had the Tories inherited?
Poor economy not only from Labour but also from the previous tories.
What was passed in 1970?
National Insurance Act
What did the 1970 Act do?
Gave pension rights to 100,000 people who had not been covered by the 1948 NAA.
Attendance allowance for people who needed long-term care at home.
Invalidity benefit - increased child allowance. Made rent subsidies available for low income families.
How much did Labour raise pension rates?
25%
What acts were passed in 1975?
Invalid Care Allowance
Universal Child Benefit
What did the Universal Child Benefit do?
All children including firstborn - number of children under remit is doubled.
What act was passed in 1976?
Supplementary Benefits Act
When were the IMF cuts?
1976
What did the IMF cuts do?
Cut spending in return for a $4 billion loan
How much money was made in cuts?
£2.5 billion
What happened in the 1974 election?
The Conservatives attacked Wilson’s Labour welfare policies - showing there is no longer a consensus between the two major parties on what policies should and shouldn’t be continued with
What was the impact of growing affluence?
Affluent working-class and middle-class people saw welfare as a problem, not as a solution - opposition from them meant that not even those who could benefit agreed with the concept of a welfare state
What was the impact of the generational shift?
Less inclined to endorse collectivism - working class = aspirational - grow rich rather than defend the rights of their class. Less sympathy for policies that meant higher tax.
What was health care pre-WWI?
Hybrid of state and private provisions - provided by different agencies.
What agencies provided healthcare pre-WWI?
Local Friendly Societies
Who called for an NHS pre-WWI?
Labour
What proportion of men were unfit for combat in WWI?
41%
How many men were deemed unusable in any military capacity?
10%
What was the state of the Ministry of Health in 1919?
Lacked statutory authority and political will required to radically change the system
Which authorities had remit over medical services?
School Medical Service and the Factory Health Inspectorate.
What happened in 1926?
Tories failed to act on Royal Commission recommendation to either scrap or reform the health insurance system
Why did Chamberlain advise against this?
Insurance companies were too powerful to take on.
What percentage of health insurance was provided by large companies?
75%
What did the 1911 National Insurance Act do?
The government relied on “Approved Societies” to collect subscriptions and pay medical costs.
How many workers were covered by state health insurance in 1937?
18 million
What was the issue with Friendly Societies?
Too small - couldn’t pay for members hospital treatment.