britain 3 Flashcards
(14 cards)
What were the 4 class divisions in 1906?
The upper class: Wealthy landowners, families dominated society, included factory owners.
The middle class: 1/4 of the population, mainly in ‘professional’ jobs like doctors, lawyers, teachers.
The lower middle class: Non-manual employees, e.g., shopkeepers.
The working class: 75% of the population, manual workers, unskilled, average wage just over £1 a week.
What did Charles Booth find in his research?
Interviewed 4000 people.
Concluded that poverty in London was closer to 30.7% than the 25% claimed by the government.
What did Rowntree conclude in his research?
Built on the work of Booth.
Investigated poverty in York.
Found that 28% were living in poverty.
Both Booth and Rowntree concluded that poverty was not the fault of the individual, but rather the system.
What was decided in the People’s Budget?
Paid for the Liberal reforms - £16 million.
Income tax on a sliding scale: Incomes under £3000 paid 9d for every pound; incomes over £3000 a year paid 1s2d for every pound.
Super tax for those over £5000 income.
Included inheritance and petrol tax.
What happened to the People’s Budget?
Passed through the House of Commons.
Thrown out by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords, leading to a constitutional crisis.
What were the key Liberal welfare reforms?
1906 Education Act (meals).
1906 Education Act (medical inspections).
1908 Children’s Act.
1908 Old Age Pensions Act.
1909 Trade Boards.
1911 National Insurance (unemployment + sickness).
Explain the 1906 Education Act (meals).
Local authorities given power to provide free school meals for needy children.
Enabled hungry children to concentrate more.
14 million free school meals a year by 1914.
Was permissive, not compulsory; only 50% of authorities provided meals.
Explain the 1906 Education Act (medical inspection).
Set up the School Medical Service.
Made it compulsory for Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to medically inspect school children.
By 1914, 3/4 of authorities were providing free medical inspection.
Often not always treatment - the poor couldn’t afford treatment.
Explain the 1908 Children’s Act.
Parental neglect criminalised.
Juvenile courts created for young offenders.
Made it illegal to sell tobacco and alcohol to children.
The state tried to ensure minimum standards for children.
Involved a lot of codifying of existing law.
Explain the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act.
Provided a pension of five shillings a week for single persons and 7s 6d for a married couple.
Scheme was ‘non-contributory’, paid out of general taxation.
Provided a regular weekly sum as of right to those who qualified.
Paid by the State through local post offices, NOT through the Poor Law, helping those ashamed of being classed as ‘a pauper’.
About 1 million pensioners by 1915, more women than men.
Only paid to the elderly poor (over 70) on a very low income.
Pension based on a ‘sliding scale’ according to income; only poorest got the full amount.
Pensioners had to be ‘of good character’ (worked regularly, not been in prison).
Pension paid was a bare minimum for survival - only a support, not a replacement for self-help.
Explain the 1909 Trade Boards and Labour Exchanges.
Trade Boards: Set up to fix minimum wages and inspect conditions in certain trades.
Initially covered 200,000 mostly women workers in 4 ‘sweated trades’ (long hours, low wages, no union).
Extended to six trades and coal miners by 1913.
Only covered ‘sweated trades’; too few inspectors. No national minimum wage until 1999.
Labour Exchanges: Set up places where workers looking for jobs and employers could meet.
2 million registered by 1914.
For every worker who found a job, three did not.
Explain the 1911 National Insurance Act (Unemployment).
State compelled workers to contribute to a national insurance fund.
Covered 2.25 million workers.
Provided 7 shillings a week benefit for up to 15 weeks.
Only applied to certain trades (e.g., shipbuilding).
Most workers were not covered.
Explain the 1911 National Insurance Act (Sickness).
State organised scheme where workers and employees paid into a national fund propped by tax.
Covered 13 million workers.
Paid out weekly sickness benefit.
Only covered workers earning below £160 per year.
Only covered ages 16 to 60.
13 million was not enough coverage.
How can the welfare reforms be evaluated?
Created a basic minimum (‘lifebelt’).
Laid foundations for later social reform.
Didn’t create a ‘welfare state’.
Areas like Housing, Education, and large families were left untouched.
