Social policies Flashcards
(31 cards)
What piece of legislation was passed in 1885?
The Working Class Dwellings Act
What was the The Working Class Dwellings Act?
Local councils could identify uninhabitable dwellings
Landowners became liable for their tenants health
Illegal for landowners to let property that was below sanitary conditions
What did the Royal Commission of Labour find in 1892-95?
Almost 50% of the labouring classes earned about 15 shillings a week whilst the survivable rate was 1 pound and 5 shillings
What did Salisbury’s government do with these findings?
Ignored them
What was passed in 1891?
The Factory and Workshops Act
What was The Factory and Workshops Act?
Consolidated earlier legislation
Children under 11 can’t work and women can’t work for more than 12 hours in a day
What type of legislation was there an absence of and what did this mean?
Absence of trade union legislation which meant that pay and working conditions remained the same
What was made free in 1891?
Elementary education
What was passed in 1892?
Public Libraries Act
What was the Public Libraries Act?
Allowed local bodies to set up public libraries
Free access to books for WC families, great stimulus to improve literacy rates
What was passed in 1902?
Balfour’s education act
What was Balfour’s education act?
Established state responsibility for secondary schools
Abolished school boards and set up 140 Local Education Authorities which could build new secondary schools
What was passed in 1891?
Public Health (London) Act
What was the Public Health (London) Act?
Public health inspectors had to be qualified, set precedent that public service officials should have some qualifications
Officials could collect sewage where it could endanger health or order a clearance of an overcrowded dwelling
What had been nearly eradicated by 1900?
Smallpox
How many people died of Typhoid in Lincoln between 1904-05?
130
What was passed in 1888?
Local Government Act
What was the Local Government Act?
Councils can impose taxes, maintain roads and organise poor relief
Councils were elected by ratepayers
What did Local Government reform lead to?
‘Civic Pride’ - Joseph Chamberlain made Birmingham cleaner and healthier by the 1890s due to the powers he had been given
What did philanthropic employers do in this period?
Created housing developments for workers
E.g. Cadbury at Bournville in 1895
What was passed in 1908?
Old Age Pensions Act
What was the Old Age Pensions Act?
Provided a non-contributory pension of 5 shillings a week for people aged over 70 with an annual income of under £21
Why was the Old Age Pensions Act criticised?
Living costs were around 30 shillings a week, did not provide enough to sustain someone
Average income was £30 and the life expectancy was 48-55, most people did not qualify for the pension
What was passed regarding children in 1908?
The Children’s Charter
