DLG Social Policies

Question 1

Achievements of DLG in social policies

Answer 1

• fishers education act
• maternity and child welfare act
• old age pensions act
• national insurance
• unemployment act
• unemployment insurance
• addisons housing act
• coal mines act
• agriculture act

Question 2

Detail on the fishers education act

Answer 2

• 1918
• raised the school leaving age from 12 to 14
• local authorities had the option of making it 15
• increased grants for more secondary schools to be built
• more scholarships to grammar schools
• reflected ambitious attempt to create a more equitable and inclusive post war Britain

Question 3

What did the maternity and child welfare act do

Answer 3

• 1918
• increased maternity benefits

Question 4

What did the old age pensions act do?

Answer 4

• 1919
• creased the amount of benefits available from the 1908 scheme

Question 5

What did Addison’s housing act do?

Answer 5

• 1919
• more low rent council houses were to be built
• this would help the inherent housing shortage
• they were to build houses with low rent at the rate of 70,000 per year
• so called ‘council-houses’
• building was subsidised to £260 a house
• around 213,000 were built in total
• measures represented a major expansion of the states role in social welfare

Question 6

What two areas can the government count some form of success in?

Answer 6

Housing and education

Question 7

Assessment of success

Answer 7

• reflected an ambitious effort at state intervention in British domestic affairs
• “homes fit for heroes” motivated him, policies aimed to address the pressing social needs of a war weary population
• laid the foundation for a more equitable post war society
• reforms marked a significant shift towards a more interventionist welfare state
• but, their success was limited by economic constraints, poor implementation and political instability
• partially successful in intention and structure, but failed to achieved full potential in practice due to short term political pressures and mismanagement
• education acts marked a more significant step towards universal education and demonstrated a strong commitment to long term social investment
• must distinguish between aspirational success and practical delivery