Britian Essay 5 - Liberals

Question 1

What year did the Liberals come into power?

Answer 1

1906

Question 2

How many seats did the Liberals win compared to the Conservatives in the 1906 election?

Answer 2

397 seats for Liberals, 156 for Conservatives

Question 3

What was the main focus of the acts passed by the Liberals after coming into power?

Answer 3

Helping the people who struggled the most with poverty

Question 4

Which groups did the Liberals aim to help?

Answer 4

The young, the old, the sick

Question 5

What was the name of the act passed in December 1906 to help children?

Answer 5

Provision of School Meals Act

Question 6

Who was the Prime Minister who passed the Provision of School Meals Act?

Answer 6

Campbell Bannerman

Question 7

What did the Provision of School Meals Act allow local authorities to do?

Answer 7

Raise money to pay for school meals

Question 8

By 1910, how many school meals were being received?

Answer 8

9 million

Question 9

By 1914, how many school meals were being received?

Answer 9

14 million

Question 10

What was one positive outcome of the Provision of School Meals Act?

Answer 10

Needy pupils received one nutritious meal a day

Question 11

What limitation existed regarding the Provision of School Meals Act?

Answer 11

Poorer school children were not fed during holidays or weekends

Question 12

What act did the Liberal government pass in 1907?

Answer 12

Medical Inspections Act

Question 13

What did the Medical Inspections Act make compulsory?

Answer 13

Medical inspections in schools

Question 14

How many inspections took place during a child’s time at school according to the Medical Inspections Act?

Answer 14

Three inspections

Question 15

What aspects of health did the medical inspections examine?

Answer 15

Height, weight, cleanliness, eyes, ears, teeth

Question 16

What illnesses could the medical inspections help diagnose?

Answer 16

Rickets, TB

Question 17

Did the Liberals fully met the needs of the British children regarding poverty?

Answer 17

Although they helped children stay healthy treatments for disease weren’t free so children couldn’t get treatment

Question 18

What legislation did the Liberal government pass in 1908 to address the needs of old people in Britain?

Answer 18

The Old Age Pensions Act

This act provided pensions to individuals over 70 based on income.

Question 19

What was the weekly pension amount for individuals over 70 under the Old Age Pensions Act?

Answer 19

Between 1 shilling (5p) and 5 shillings (25p)

Married couples received 7 shillings and 6 pence (37p).

Question 20

How did the Old Age Pensions Act signify a change in government responsibility?

Answer 20

It marked the government taking full responsibility for individual poverty

Help was provided as a right, not as charity.

Question 21

What was the minimum amount identified by Seebohm Rowntree necessary for survival?

Answer 21

35p per week

The Old Age Pension fell short of this amount.

Question 22

How was the Old Age Pensions Act funded?

Answer 22

By general taxation

It was a non-contributory scheme.

Question 23

What was the purpose of collecting pensions at the post office?

Answer 23

To avoid the stigma of the poor law

This aimed to reduce the social stigma attached to receiving help.

Question 24

What income threshold disqualified individuals from receiving the pension?

Answer 24

Twelve shillings (35p) per week

Those earning above this amount could not receive the pension.

Question 25

How many old people were benefiting from the Old Age Pensions Act by 1914?

Answer 25

970,000 ## Footnote This improved the financial situation for many elderly individuals.

Question 26

Did the liberals fully help the old?

Answer 26

even though the Liberals helped old people continue to have money after they were too old to work, the Liberals did not fully meet the needs of the old because the age to claim the pension was too old and many people did not live long enough to get it.

Question 27

What legislation did the Liberal government pass in 1911 to address the needs of the sick?

Answer 27

The National Insurance Act (part 1) ## Footnote It created a system of health insurance for workers.

Question 28

Who was eligible for health insurance under the National Insurance Act?

Answer 28

Workers between 16 and 60 earning less than £160 a year ## Footnote This covered approximately 15 million workers.

Question 29

What was the weekly benefit amount for insured workers under the National Insurance Act?

Answer 29

9p in benefits a week ## Footnote Workers contributed 4p, employers 3p, and the state 2p.

Question 30

How did the National Insurance Act address poverty related to sickness?

Answer 30

By providing income during sickness ## Footnote Absence from work due to sickness was a major cause of poverty.

Question 31

What was a criticism of the weekly contributions required under the National Insurance Act?

Answer 31

It effectively acted as a wage cut ## Footnote This could worsen poverty for some families.

Question 32

What were the benefits for sick workers during the first 13 weeks of illness?

Answer 32

10 shillings a week ## Footnote After that, it reduced to 5 shillings a week for the next 13 weeks.

Question 33

What maternity benefit was provided under the National Insurance Act?

Answer 33

30 shillings for each child ## Footnote This was part of the benefits for insured workers.

Question 34

What medical benefit was provided to insured workers under the National Insurance Act?

Answer 34

Free medical treatment when off sick ## Footnote This helped workers recover and return to work.

Question 35

Did the liberals effectively help the sick?

Answer 35

even though the Liberals helped tackle one of the biggest causes of poverty, they did not fully meet the needs of the sick because they only got covered for a limited amount of time

Question 36

Conclusion

Answer 36

In conclusion there were a number of reasons that led to the needs of the British people being met to an extent. On the one hand even though the Liberal government helped the young by helping them stay healthy they didn’t fully meet their needs because medicine still wasn’t free meaning they couldn’t get treated for any medical problems they had. Even though they also tried to help the old by helping them continue to have money after they were too old to work, the Liberals did not fully meet the needs of the unemployed because the age to claim the pension was too old and many people did not live long enough to get it. Even though they also tried to help the sick by helping tackle one of the biggest causes of poverty, they did not fully meet the needs of the sick because they only got covered for a limited amount of time. Overall, the Liberal government did not meet the needs of the British people because they didn’t effectively tackle with all the problems of poverty or fully deal with poverty.