Creating a welfare state 1918-79 Flashcards
(11 cards)
1
Q
Inter-war years
A
- In 1918, most welfare provision consisted of workhouses
- Unemployment Insurance Acts 1920-21 - covered workers for a period of 15 weeks. Justified by supporting high levels of unemployment and a desire to support veterans
- National Economy Act 1931 - after the wall street crash and its effects, this reduced benefits, introduced the means test, and meant people had to reapply after 6 months
- Means test was v unpopular - several hunger marches e.g. Jarrow march in 1936
2
Q
Impact of WW2
A
- 1939-45 - social agreement not to go back to the inter-war years
- Beveridge Report 1942, condemning of the five ‘giants’ - want, squalor, idleness, disease, ignorance. Advocated universal benefits, rejected means testing, argued for a flat rate from all wage earners to contribute to healthcare
- Post-war Labour created the modern welfare state. Family Allowances Act 1945 (child benefits payable to mother), National Insurance Act 1946 (unemployment and sickness benefits to all workers, state pension), National Assistance Act 1948 (homeless, disabled, unmarried mothers, pensioners in poverty. anyone not covered by National Insurance)
- National Health Service in 1948, Nye Bevan
- Welfare Consensus 1939-64 - Broad agreements on welfare state, wealthier classes having a moral obligation to the poorer. Inc. the conservatives, only some like Enoch Powell rejected
3
Q
Welfare provision 1964-79
A
- Rise of the ‘New Right’ - political consensus began to break down, arguing that a culture of welfare bred dependency and diverted resources away from economic growth
- 1964-70 Labour and 1970-74 Conservative were both still committed to welfare.
- National Insurance Act 1970 - granted greater pension rights, introduced allowances for those in long-term care, inc. child allowance, rent subsidies.
- Means-tested Family Income Supplement in 1970
- 1976 Labour - feeling that the government could no longer afford welfare from ‘the cradle to the grave’.
- 1970s - Young people stopped supporting collectivist ideas that arose from ww2, many criticised welfare receivers as ‘scroungers’, many WC didn’t support higher taxes as it prevented them from increasing their living standards
- 1975 - Thatcher as leader of Cons. party
4
Q
Health provision 1918-1945
A
- 1919 Ministry of Health, administering health funds
- Local Government Act 1929, made local authorities responsible for Poor Law Hospitals and other welfare areas
- Hospitals and GPs sometimes served those on National Insurance schemes, but not their families
- Under half of the population had healthcare insurance in 1929
-1920s and 30s - maternal mortality rates were 50 percent higher in working class groups than amongst the middle class
5
Q
Creation + impact of the NHS, 1945-79
A
- National Health Service Act 1946, came into effect in 1948
- Bevan struggled to get the co-operation of doctors who earned more privately. He offered that Consultants would be allowed to take on private patients (who dominated regional health boards), and GPs were still self-employed
- The NHS inherited existing structure, so distribution was uneven and unequal
- Further reformed under next governments:
- Macmillan’s Hospital Plan 1962 with creation of 90 hospitals and refurbishment of 350
- NHS reorganisation Act 1973 - Added a new management strategy, which increased costs
- NHS spending increased amongst both Labour and Conservatives
6
Q
Challenge of medical advances, 1945-79
A
- 1948 - The number of prescriptions rose from 6.8 million to 13.6 million in just 1 year
- NHS spent 250% more on drugs in 1964 than in 1949
- An ageing population in Britain placed increased pressure on the NHS, e.g. 24,000 hip replacements in 1979
- Advances such as heart bypasses and organ transplants increased costs
- Crisis in the 1970s - Medical advances, growing age, issues with mental health care, economic issues
7
Q
Education policy 1918-1944
A
- LEAs governed education by 1918, and provision was variable. The 1918 Education Act moved funding to central government,
- 1926 Hadow Committee - Recommended abolition of elementary schools, and the raising of the leaving age to 15
- Due to Beveridge report, 1944 Butler Act
- Butler Act 1944 - state secondary schools became free, and compulsory education was extended to the age of 15. Also introduced a ‘tripartite system’ - grammar schools that required passing of the 11+ exam, secondary moderns that 75% of students attended, and technical schools (though few were ever built due to the cost).
8
Q
Comprehensive education 1944-1979
A
- Many saw the tripartite system as needlessly divisive. Grammar schools received the most funding and were mostly attended by the middle to upper class, who could afford good early education for the 11+. Technical schools took 3% of the student population and were overwhelmingly male
- Crowther report and Newsom report, raising of school leaving age and recommendations for improvements to education provision
- Crosland Circular 1965 - abolished the tripartite system and requested LEAs to turn secondary schools into comprehensive schools
9
Q
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION - INTER-WAR
A
- Inter-war period - Around 20 universities that would accept some middle and working class students. Oxford and Cambridge remained for the privileged
- Percy report 1945 - Recommended for an expansion to university provision to cater for the larger student numbers from the Butler Act 1944, and development of science and engineering courses
10
Q
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION - 1945-1979
A
- By the 1960s, there was still a limited focus on science courses in favour of art courses
- In 1963, the Robbins report warned that Britain was falling behind in terms of university performance compared to other countries
- The UEA was opened in 1963, and 32 polytechnics were opened too
- The Open University opened in 1971, widening accessibility
- Funding was reduced in the 70s, and yet university attendance continued to grow
11
Q
A
