Details of KU how effective Liberal reforms

Question 1

Who was traditionally seen as the victims of poverty and why?

Answer 1

Children and because they were unable to escape poverty from their own efforts.

Question 2

Why did the Liberals introduce the free school meals act?

Answer 2

Malnutrition was seen to be a major problem so the government introduced the 1906 School meals act

Question 3

When did the Liberals introduce the free school meals act?

Answer 3

1906

Question 4

How many free school meals were provided?

Answer 4

3 million in 1906, 9 million in 1910 and 14 million in 1914.

Question 5

What was the childrens charter?

Answer 5

It set out basic rights for a child and banning children under 16 from smoking, drinking alcohol, or begging.

Question 6

When was the children charters put into action?

Answer 6

1908

Question 7

When was the old age pension act?

Answer 7

1908

Question 8

How old did you have to be to be paid pension?

Answer 8

70+

Question 9

How much did the Old Age Pension act pay out individually?

Answer 9

A single person was paid 5 shillings a week.
Married couples would be paid 7 to 10 shillings a week and both payments would be linked to income.

Question 10

In 1908, how many people were claiming a pension?

Answer 10

600,000 people
45% of the over 70 population.

Question 11

What did part 2 of the national insurance act provide in relation to the unemployment?

Answer 11

Unemployment insurance for key workers in construction, shipbuilding, steel and iron - ultimately all trades affected by short term seasonal disruption.

Question 12

How much money did the 2nd part of the national insurance act provide?

Answer 12

7 shillings per week up to a maximum of 15 week.

Question 13

How many people did the 2nd part of the national insurance act cover?

Answer 13

Insurance covered about 2.5 million workers or ¼ of the male workforce, similar to the health insurance reform, it was a combination of state help and contributions from the worker.

Question 14

What was part 1 of the national insurance act?

Answer 14

It offered insurance to certain sections of the workforce, about 15 million. It applied to workers earning less than £160 a year.

Question 15

How much did part 1 of the national insurance act pay out individually?

Answer 15

Each insured worker got 9 pence in contributions from an outlay of only4 pence - ‘ninepence for fourpence’. The act also provided free treatment given by a doctor which included some drugs and access to a 30 shilling maternity grant.

Question 16

Who had talked about introducing pensions before the liberals?

Answer 16

Conservatives.

Question 17

By 1914 how many people were claiming OAP?

Answer 17

nearly one million people.

Question 18

By 1913 how many workers were covered by Part 1 of the national insurance act?

Answer 18

13 million

Question 19

What did Part 1 of the National Insurance Act provide for todays insurance safety net?

Answer 19

the system provided the foundation for today’s insurance safety net, which indicates that while Part 1 of the insurance act was somewhat effective in the sense that it paved the way for future insurance

Question 20

Was the pay from part 1 of the National Insurance good?

Answer 20

No - it was way below the breadline identified by Booth and Rowntree, and below payments made by most trade union schemes.

Question 21

What happened to the number of people relying on Poor Law?

Answer 21

After 1908, the number of old people relying on Poor Law decreased sharply.

Question 22

What is the National Insurance act a good example of?

Answer 22

The governments transition from laissez-fare

Question 23

By 1914 how many people were finding work every day in labour exchanges?

Answer 23

3000

Question 24

What was the flaw with labour exchanges?

Answer 24

Workers were not required to register and employers did not notify the exchange of vacancies - therefore the exchanges only really worked for peoples whose skills were in demand.

Question 25

What do critics argue for against the labour exchanges?

Answer 25

That the national insurance act of 1911 was only meant to cover temporary unemployment as highlighted by the 15 week timescale.

Question 26

How many people were covered by part2 of the national insurance and what does this mean for critics?

Answer 26

only 2.3 million workers were covered, a small percentage of the workforce and significantly fewer than the 15 million covered by sickness insurance. Critics argue that this shows how the Liberals were reluctant to take responsibility for supporting workers during periods of unemployment and suggests that the Liberal reforms were less effective in this area.