Creating A Welfare State 1918-1979 Flashcards
(74 cards)
1
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Welfare provision in 1918
A
- Based primarily on the workhouse
- Old age pensions, unemployment, sickness benefits had been introduced to limited degree
2
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Workhouses
A
- Principal form of social service for elderly, sick, and destitute
- Most had hospitals attached
- Abolished by Local Government Act of 1929
- Closed by 1930
3
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Unemployment Insurance Acts of 1920 & 1921
A
Extended unemployment insurance to cover most workers for 15 weeks
4
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Justification for Unemployment Insurance Acts of 1920 & 1921
A
- Need to support unprecedentedly high levels of unemployment
- Fears that widespread poverty may lead to revolution like in Russia in 1917
- Popular desire to support former servicemen and their families
5
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Retrenchments in Welfare Provision in the 1930s
A
- Onset of Great Depression = more demand on welfare provision
- Welfare less affordable due to reduced tax revenue (more workers unemployed) = vicious cycle
- Aim of successive governments was to retrench in line with provision of May Report of 1931
6
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
National Economy Act 1931
A
- Significantly reduced entitlement to & provision of benefits
- Introduced means test for those whose insurance entitlement had run out
- Placed 6 moth cap, after which benefits had to be reapplied for
7
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Means Test
A
- Took all household income into consideration when assessing benefit - included child’s income & elderly pension
- Bitterly resented as humiliating and unfair
- Attracted official & unofficial snoopers who checked on claimants to ensure destitution
- Any suspected of abusing the system could have benefits cancelled
- 1932 National Hunger March = 3000 unemployed men walked to London to demand end to means test & start of job provision
8
Q
The Extent and Nature of Social Welfare Provision 1918-1939
Hunger Marches
A
- Many joined these walks from their homes, usually in depressed areas, to London to publicise their plight
- 1936 Jarrow March: hundreds marched to London, but their benefits were cut during the journey due to not registering for work
- Jarrow = impoverished shipbuilding town in North-East
9
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The Impact of WWII
A
- State increasingly took responsibility for people’s welfare during war - organisation of evacuations, rationing, ensuring health
- Increasing agreement that there should be no return to pre-war poverty
- 1942 Beveridge Report = blueprint for post-war social welfare
10
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The Beveridge Report
A
- Asserted 5 giants that needed to be overcome if social conditions were to improve
- 5 Giants = squalor, ignorance, want, idleness, disease
- Advocated universal benefits & end to means test
- Beveridge argued for flat rate of contributions from all wage earners to pay for comprehensive welfare benefits - covering unemployment, sickness, pensions, and family based benefits
11
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The work of the Labour Government 1945-1951
A
- Credited with creation of modern Welfare State
- Widespread new provisions led to idea that state would care for citizens ‘from the cradle to the grave’
- Crucial factor with the post-war consensus
12
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
Family Allowances Act 1945
A
- Created monetary child benefits for the first time
- Payable to the mother, not the father - non-working mothers gained income independent of their husbands
13
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The National Insurance Act 1946
A
- Made unemployment benefits and sickness benefits available to all workers
- Paid state pension to all men over 65 and all women over 60
- £1 for single people and £1.75 for married couples
14
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The Industrial Injuries Act 1946
A
Gave workers the right to be compensated by the Ministry of National Insurance for accidents and injuries in the workplace
15
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The National Assistance Act 1948
A
- Offered welfare benefits to those who were not covered by National Insurance
- The homeless, the disabled, unmarried mothers, and pensioners living in poverty were able to claim
16
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
Creation of the National Health Service 1948
A
NHS offered free and comprehensive health cover for all, funded from compulsory National Insurance scheme taken directly from wages
17
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
The Welfare Consensus 1939-1964
A
- Broad agreement between major parties over role of state and provision of welfare
- Cons. OMs 1951-1964 supported maintenance of welfare provision
- Some members of Cons. party (eg. Treasury minister Enoch Powell) advocated cuts in welfare, but were in a minority
18
Q
The Impact of War, the Labour gov., and Consensus 1939-1964
PM Macmillan (1957-1964) on Welfare
A
- Agreed there should be not return to pre-war poverty
- Believed wealthier classes had moral responsibility to help provide for those in poverty
- Understood that any cuts to welfare would be unpopular and lose electoral support
19
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
The New Right
A
- Political consensus over welfare provision began to break down in early 1970s
- NR suppoerters argued social welfare trapped people in dependency culture
- Argued growing welfare bills were diverting resources from economic growth - undermining GB’s long-term economic performance
20
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
Welfare provision 1964-1979
A
- Labour gov 1964-1970 refused to cut welfare - increased tax to pay for it
- Cons. gov 1970-1974 appeared equally committed to it
- 1970 Family Income Supplement: for poorer families, offered means tested rebates
21
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
The National Insurance Act 1970
A
- Introduced generous package of welfare benefits - extended welfare
- Gave pension rights to 100K who had not been covered by 1948 National Assistance Act
- Introduced attendance allowance for people who needed long-term care at home
- Established invalidity benefit for disabled people
- Increased child allowance given to mothers
- Made rent subsidies available for low-income families in private accomodation
22
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
Challenges to welfare provision
A
- Many felt it was wrong for taxpayers to pay for welfare benefits
- Many felt it was inefficient way of spending money due to no tangible benefits - economic problems worsened, they felt the gov should retrench
- Many argued welfare caused dependency - people could no longer help themselves, eg. by finding work
23
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
Increased Costs
A
- As part of terms of 1976 IMF loan, Labour gov had to retrench and cut welfare budget
- Emerging consensus that GB could no longer afford to provide welfare ‘from the cradle to the grave’
- Former consensus replaced by a new one of reduced welfare provision
24
Q
Reasons for Increasing Challenges to state welfare provision 1964-1979
Changing Attitudes
A
- Many younger people less inclined to endorse collectivist thinking that emerged from GD & WWII - supported policies favouring the individual, not the community
- Many criticised welfare claimants as ‘scroungers’ irrespective of individual circumstances
- ‘Aspirational’ working class - goals were to increase standard of living, buying own homes, and enjoying consumerism - little sympathy for policies that meant higher taxes
- When Thatcher became Cons. leader in 1975, she embraced NR thinking onwelfare - hoping to appeal to aspirational voters
25
# Health Provision 1918-1945
Ministry of Health
* Established in 1919
* Responsible for co-ordinating health at a regional level and administering funds raised by National Health Insurance scheme
26
# Health Provision 1918-1945
Local Government Act 1929
* Introduced by Minister of Health Neville Chamberlain - most important medical reform of 1920s
* Passed responsibility for Poor Law hospitals to local authorities
* Made local authorities also responsible for areas such as running of venereal disease clinics, child welfare, dentistry, schools' medical services, and school meals
27
# Health Provision 1918-1945
Hospitals
* Various forms of hospital provision in inter-war period
* Public infirmaries managed by local authorities
* Charitable hospitals which relied on public subscriptions
* Specialist teaching hospitals
* Private hospitals
* Sickness insurance schemes did not normally fund hospital treatment for dependants (eg. wives, children)
28
# Health Provision 1918-1945
GPs
* Most charged for diagnosis and treatment - some treated poorer patients for free
* Many, known as 'panel' doctors, trated those covered by National Insurance schemes - only covered employee for treatments, not his family
29
# Health Provision 1918-1945
Healthcare in the Depression
* Less than half were insured against illness in 1929
* The uninsured were supposed to rely on private health insurance - if they could afford it
* Traditional remedies and medicines sold over the counter were common
* In most deprived parts of GB (eg. Tyneside), poor livind conditions led to higher incidences of illness and premature death
30
# Health Provision 1918-1945
Healthcare by 1939
* 1929-1939: Public health seemed to be improving
* Infant Mortality Rate in England & Wales dropped from 14.3/1000 1906-1910 to 12/1000 1936-1938
* Different picture in poorer areas - during 20s & 30s, maternal mortality rates were 50% higher in low income groups than in middle class
* By 1939, Ministry of Helath was discussing plans for regional health boards centrally managed by gov
* Medical Journal 'The Lancet' advocated for national system of healthcare
* It would take WWII to create consensus that led to the NHS
31
# Health Provision 1918-1945
The Emergency Medical Service
* Founded in 1939 to provide first aid and casualty clearing stations for those wounded in air raids
* Allowwed government to dictate provision in all hospitals
* Resulted in creation of national system
* Gov planners adopted this as basis for plans for post-war healthcare system
32
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
The National Health Service Act 1946
* Established NHS on certain principles
* Healthcare would be available to all
* Healthcare would be free at point of delivery or when treatment was necessary - NHS would be paid for by direct taxation, not insurance
* All local authority, voluntary, and private hospitals were merged into one unified sytem
* NHS hospitals would be run by regional hospital boards managed by executive committees - local health authorities provide services eg. ambulances, vaccinations, community nursing
33
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
What would the NHS offer?
* Curative & preventative care
* Mental & physical healthcare
* Hospital care, general practice surgeries, dental care, and other specialist services such as opticians
34
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
Co-operation of doctors
* Most categories of healthcare professionals accepted NHS
* Bevan struggled to get co-operation of doctors - had to compromise for their support
* Consultants/specialist doctors who worked on referrals were allowed to remain private, and were allocated beds in hospitals for their patients
* GPs continued to be self-employed
* Regional health boards were dominated by consultants
35
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
Provision
* Creation of NHS did not immediately lead to equal provision across the country
* NHS inherited existing infrastructure - distributed unequally
36
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
The Development of the NHS 1951-1979
* Macmillan's Cons. gov introduced the Hospital Plan in 1962
* Sir Keith Joseph, Cons. Secretary of State for Social Services, introduced NHS Reorganisation Act in 1973
* Dr David Owen, Labour Minister of State for Health, established Resource Allocation Working Party
37
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
1962 Hospital Plan
* Creation of 90 new hospitals
* Redesign and modernisation of 134 hospitals
* Refurbushment of 356 hospitals
38
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
1973 NHS Reorganisation Act
* Introduced new management structure to the NHS
* Led to significant growth in management costs 1974-1979
39
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
Resource Allocation Working Party
Identified areas of health deprivation, allocating additional resources to neediest areas
40
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
Impact of the NHS
* Improvement in healthcare - reductions in all categories of disease, except those associated with old age
* Facilitated medical advances - life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and heart disease had much better recovery rates
* Incidences of infant mortality and post-natal complications significantly reduced
* IMR = 30/1000 in 1950 -> 10/1000 by 1980 -> 3.8/1000 in 2016
41
# Creation and Impact of the NHS 1945-1979
NHS Spending
* Spending on NHS increased under both Labour & Cons Govs
* 1955-56: 2.9% of GDP
* 1975-76: 4.9% of GDP
42
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Expansion of Treatments 1948-1964
* Demand for NHS services grew rapidly from 1948
* Critics - it would encourage people to seek medical advice for flimsy reasons
* Millions of glasses and false teeth were prescribed - shows that many could not afford such items before
43
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Prescriptions and Drugs
* September 1948: number of prescriptions rose to 13.6M from 6.8M in the previous June
* 1949-1964: more medicines became available = increasing NHS drug costs
* NHS spent 250% more on drugs in 1964 than in 1951
* Vaccinations increased scope of NHS provision - pre-1939, smallpox was the only routine vaccine. By 1964, vaccines against TB, diptheria, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough were universally available
44
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Challenges facing the NHS: Infrastructure
* 1948-1960: little investment in modernising NHS hospitals, and little done to tackle inequalities in provision
* During 60s & 70s, gov attempts to remedy this were only partly successful
* Increasing demand on NHS resources as new treatments developed, leading to rising expectations and growing costs
* Gov spent less on health than other European countries
45
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Challenges facing the NHS: Treatment & Staffing
* Increasingly high-tech medical equipment led to new challenges
* Numbers of consultants and nursing staff increased by 66% 1964-1979
* Technical staff increased by 300%
* NHS staffing increased from 407K in 1951 to 1M in 1979
46
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Challenges facing the NHS: Ageing population
* As the population aged, demands on the NHS increased
* NHS performed 24K hip replacements in 1979
47
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Challenges facing the NHS: Major Surgery
* Advances in surgery increased demand for NHS services
* 1964-1979: important advances in ordgan surgery such as heart bypasses and organ transplants
* 1979: NHS performed 800 kidney transplants and 5K heart bypasses
48
# The Challenge of Medical Advances 1945-1979
Crisis in the NHS?
* Growing demand for NHS services due to medical advances and the ageing population
* Healthcare provision remained unever across the country & across different branches of medicine - in particular, problems in mental health care
* By late 70s - no longer assumed that economic growth would continue and support increasing spending on healthcare
* NHS ultimately protected by widespread consesnus that it was an indispensable part of British life
49
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Education before 1918
* Pre-1918 - provided by Local Education Authorities, variable provision
* 1918 Education Act - transferred funding from LEAs to central government
* Hoped that standardised resourcing and pay/conditions for teachers would improve school standards
50
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Hadow Committee 1926
Highlighted variable quality of provision. Recommended:
* Abolition of elementary schools, with division into primary and secondary - transferring at age 11
* Raising of school leaving age to 15
51
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Hadow Committee 1926: Failures
* Not adopted because of cost and local authorities retaining responsibility for education - some provided elementaries of variable quality
* Class sizes could be huge - here, the only form of learning was learning by rote
* Elementary was free
* Some authorities provided secondary or technical schools to which children transferred at 11 - variable quality of education
52
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Secondary Education
* Generally preserve of middle class children
* 1918-1944: education compulsory to age 14
* By WWII, only 13% of WC kids aged 13+ were in school
* Bright WC kids could get scholarships for grammars
53
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Impact of WWII
* Beveridge Report of 1942 - identified ignorance as one of the great 'evils' that affected Britain
* Many branches of armed services had to teach basic literacy & numeracy to lower ranks
54
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Butler Act, 1944
* Made access to secondary education possible for less wealthy kids
* State secondaries would no longer charge fees
* Cost of mass education pait for by general taxation
* Compulsory education was extended to age 15
* All WC kids had free/compulsory secondary education
55
# Education policy, 1918-1943, and the 1944 Education (Butler) Act
Tripartite System
* Grammar schools - provide academic curriculum for all kids who could pass 11+, also to provide route into greater opportunities for WC kids
* Secondary Moderns - tended to educate majority of lower MC and WC kids - generally fewer resources and less well-qualified teachers, 75% of kids in post-war
* Technical Schools - intended to educate MC for life in scientific or engineering work - few actually built due to cost - 3% of secondary school students
56
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
Problems with the Butler Act
* Many saw tripartite system as socially divisive
* Grammars received most resources, SMs underfunded w/ unsatisfactory curriculum
* Grammars took 20-25% of the most able students, rest went to SMs or TSs
* Crowther Report - 80% of SMs deficient
* Few TSs ever built - 3% of pupils at height, mostly male
57
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
Comprehensive Schools
* Critics hoped for fullly comp. schools - kids of all classes at same school, no 11+
* Comps intended to offer 'grammar schools for all' (Harold Wilson)
58
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
Early Comprehensives in the 1950s
* 1950s: inc. in # of comps. in mainly Labour local authorities
* First purpose-built comp opened at Kidbrooke in 1954
59
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
Reports into Edcuation Provision
* 1959 & 1963: Cons. gov comissioned 2 reports
* Added weight to argument that best way to ensure equality of educational opportunity was to develop comprehensive schooling
60
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
The Crowther Report 1959
Recommended:
* Raising school leaving age to 16
* Creating country colleges for post-16 education & more tech colleges
* Developing more 6th form courses
61
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
The Newsom Report 1963: 'Half our Future'
* 50% of children receiving comparatively poor educational provision
* Found failings in educational provision, esp. in poorer areas
* Some inner city schools had high teacher turnover - disadvantaged students had little continuity
* Schools should develop curricula suitable for all pupils
* Links between deprivation & poor attainment should be investigate more
62
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
The Development of Comprehensive School 1964-1979
* Labour gov 1964-1970 committed to development of comps - recognised they couldn't force LEAs to adopt them
* Circular 10/65: encouraged them to do so, through financial pressure
* Most Leas abolished selection and created comps due to this
63
# The Development of Comprehensive Education to 1979
Criticisms of Comprehensives
* Some felt educational standards were slipping
* Black Papers: Cons. educationalists criticised 'progressive education'
* 'Yellow Book' 1976 - gov sponsored, lamented standards and behaviour in schools, criticised lack of accountability
* PM Callaghan speech at Ruskin College - advocated nat. curriculum, greater accountability
64
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Accessibility in the inter-war period
* Oxbridge remained largely for the privileged, but ~20 provincial unis took on MC & WC
* Funded through grants/scholarships offered by LEAs & Charities
* Another route, esp. for bright WC, was gov funded teacher-training grants
* Recipients known as Recognised Students in Training - agreed to follow degree w/ postgrad teacher training w/ commitment to teaching after
65
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Percy Report 1945
Recommended:
* Science & engineering courses should be further developed
* Unis be dramatically expanded to cater for increase in students due to Butler Act
66
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Barlow Report 1946
* Too few scientists and engineering students to fulfil future positions - eg. in industry and research
* Argued for gov-funded uni expansion
67
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Impact of Percy & Barlow Reports
* By 1960s still too few science courses - many unis prioritised arts
* Widely felt that # of science and tech courses insufficient to meet future need
68
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Robbins Report 1963
* Warned Britain was being overtaken by other countries in terms of uni performance
* Recommended a goal of 5x more student places by 1980
69
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
University Expansion in 1960s & 1970s
* Both Labour & Cons supporters agreed w/ expansion of uni provision & that gov should pay for tuition and student grants
* 1960s saw expansion of unis - eg. opening of UEA in 1963 and creation of 32 polytechnics focusing on scientific subjects and vocational courses
* Teacher training & art colleges upgraded
* # of students grew - taking advantage of generous financing
70
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
The Open University
* Opene in 1971
* Based almost exclusively on distance learning - people could study degrees at home
71
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Universities in the 1970s
* Both Cons & Labour cut uni funding due to retrenchment policies
* # of uni students continued to grow - partly due to rising population, rising expectations, and continued grants/tuition fees
72
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Statistics of First Degrees awarded in UK
* 1920: ~4K
* 1950: ~17K
* 1970: ~51K
73
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Issues in looking at statistics of first degrees awarded
Don't show:
* Total numbers who took first degree and failed
* Drop out numbers
* Those taking postgrad study
Nevertheless show significant increase in numbers of students earning degrees
74
# The Growth and Social Impact of University Education 1918-1979
Impact of Extension of University Education
* Dramatic impact on social mobility
* Opened up professions to bright students who may not have had opportunity to study - extended opportunity for more to rise beyond their background
* Huge cost - lead to retrenchment in 1980s
