Theme 2: Welfare

Question 1

1908 Old Age Pensions Act

Answer 1

Those 70+ received 5 shillings a week. Means tested, didn’t support widows and children

Question 2

1911 National Insurance Act

Answer 2

Unemployment benefit of 7 shillings/week for up to 15 weeks in a 12-month period. Less than avg income (20 shillings/week)

Question 3

1919 Housing and Town Planning Act

Answer 3

Promised ‘homes for heroes’ for returning soldiers, with local govs using central gov funds for this. 600,000 needed, only 213,000 built before 1922 Geddes Axe

Question 4

Out of Work Donation, 1918-20

Answer 4

Given to returning troops + the unemployed. 29 shillings/week for men, 25 for women. Calculated according to family size. Continued until job found

Question 5

1920 National Insurance Act

Answer 5

Replaced OWD, expanded 1911 scheme to include most workers earning under £250/yr (over 11mil). Increased to 15 shillings/week- still low compared to average earnings.
1921- extra allowances for wife and family

Question 6

1925 Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act

Answer 6

Pension of 10 shillings/week for those 65+, widows, and children. Funded by compulsory contribution, not means tested

Question 7

1927 Employment Insurance Act

Answer 7

Benefit now unlimited, provided they could prove they were seeking work

Question 8

1931 National Economy Act

Answer 8

Cut employment benefits by 10%. Disqualified short-term workers from receiving help. Made benefits only claimable for 6 months. Introduced means-tested transitional payments to support the unemployed after 6 months

Question 9

1934 Unemployment Act

Answer 9

Reversed 10% cut, still only claimable for 6 months and means tested by Unemployment Assistance Board

Question 10

1945 Family Allowances Act

Answer 10

Provided mothers a non-means tested payment of 5 shillings/week for each child, except her first. Improved the status of mothers

Question 11

1946 National Insurance Industrial Injuries Act

Answer 11

Gave workers the right to compensation for injuries. Free pamphlet sent to 14mil homes - ‘Family Guide to National Insurance’. By 1949, 50mil leaflets distributed, and 88% of those entitled to family allowances had applied for it

Question 12

1946 National Insurance Act

Answer 12

Extended 1911 Act to cover all adults through contributions from employer, worker and gov. Covered sickness and unemployment benefit, old age pensions for women at 60 and men at 65, widows and orphans’ pensions, maternity allowances and death grants. Poor paid higher percentage of income than rich

Question 13

1946 New Towns Act

Answer 13

Gave the gov the power to decide where new homes should be built- 14 new towns operational

Question 14

1947 Town and County Planning Act

Answer 14

Gave the job of planning to county authorities. Required them to produce land development plans for the next 20 years

Question 15

1948 National Assistance Act

Answer 15

Set up National Assistance Boards to help unmarried mothers, the blind, the deaf and those first joining the schemes. Filled loopholes of NIA, money provided via taxation

Question 16

1949-51, Bevan’s Housing Drive

Answer 16

Averaged 200,000 houses a year. Protected tenants in houses owned by private landlords by introducing rent controls. Still 750,000 houses fewer than households by the end of the drive

Question 17

1970 National Insurance Act

Answer 17

Pension rights to 100,000 people not covered by NAA. Introduced attendance allowance. Established infidelity benefit. Increased child allowance. Made rent subsidies available for low-income families

Question 18

1929 Local Government Act

Answer 18

Created a single health authority which co-ordinated healthcare in each county/borough. Passed responsibility of poor law hospitals to the county/borough councils and allowed them to be converted into public hospitals. Gave local authorities responsibility for other areas of health, such as running of venereal disease clinics, child welfare, dentistry, school medical services, and school meals
However, by 1939, half of all public hospitals still poor law infirmaries

Question 19

1938 blood transfusions

Answer 19

National system of blood transfusion depots established near hospitals, continued after 1946 as the National Blood Transfusion Service

Question 20

1939 Emergency Medical Service

Answer 20

Set up to treat military personnel and civilian casualties

Question 21

1941 Medical Planning Research

Answer 21

Group of 200 doctors supported plans for a nationwide health service

Question 22

1942 Beveridge Report

Answer 22

Called for a national health service to deal with the 5 giant evils (ignorance, want, squalor, disease, idleness)

Question 23

1944 white paper

Answer 23

‘A National Health Service’- influenced by Beveridge

Question 24

1948 National Health Service Act

Answer 24

5th July - created the NHS

Question 25

1967 Abortion Act

Answer 25

Made abortion legal up to 28 weeks if 2 doctors testified it was in the best interest of the woman

Question 26

1967 Family Planning Act

Answer 26

From 1968, made family planning advice available to all women. Placed more demand on the NHS. By 1979, around 1/3 of women of childbearing age received free advice on family planning

Question 27

1917 Lewis Report

Answer 27

Recommended school leaving age of 14, tier of colleges to provide vocational training, curriculum to be divided into practical and advanced instruction

Question 28

1918 Fisher's Education Act

Answer 28

Based on the Lewis Report. Full time education for all children up to 14. Required local authorities to provide part-time education to 18 through continuation schools. Nursery schools to be created for toddlers

Question 29

1922 Geddes Axe

Answer 29

Barely any continuation schools or nursery schools built due to spending cuts

Question 30

1926 Haddow Report

Answer 30

Recommended elementary schools to be replaced with primary schools (5-11) and 3 types of secondary schools (11-15) - grammar, technical, and modern

Question 31

1944 Butler Education Act

Answer 31

Secondary education free- fees for state schools abolished. Raised leaving age to 15, granted gov the power to raise it to 16 and distinguished between primary and secondary, ending elementary education. Set of Ministry of Education to control local authorities- new system for setting teacher salaries. Tripartite system- Grammar, secondary modern +secondary technical (70% went to secondary modern)

Question 32

1945 Percy Report

Answer 32

Emphasis on classical studies should be replaced with science and engineering. Universities should be dramatically expanded to cater for large number of students resulting from the Butler Act

Question 33

1946 Barlow Report

Answer 33

Confirmed far too few science and engineering students- argued for gov-funded expansion of unis

Question 34

1959 Crowther Report

Answer 34

Recommended school leaving age of 16, county colleges for post-16, and the enabling of all pupils who were capable of taking O-Levels to do so

Question 35

1963 Newsom Report

Answer 35

50% of children receiving poor education, recommended focus on researching teaching methods and parliament to examine links between poor educational attainment and deprivation

Question 36

1963 Robbins Report

Answer 36

Britain being overtaken by other countries in terms of university performance. Recommended a universal national grant provided to all students with a uni place and a large increase in state funding to enable growth of uni places

Question 37

1964 Council for National Academic Awards

Answer 37

Increased access to degree-level education, enabled non-uni institutions to award degree Enabled launch of OU in 1969

Question 38

1965 Circular 10/65

Answer 38

Called for universal comprehensive education. Requested LEAs to prepare plans for reorganising secondary education into comprehensive education. Ignored by most LEAs - not compulsory

Question 39

1965 CSEs

Answer 39

Alternative to O Level, meant that more children left school with qualifications

Question 40

1970 Circular 10/70

Answer 40

Attempted to reverse Circular 10/65. Allowed LEAs to decide the future of secondary education, independent of central gov

Question 41

1973 Education (Work Experience) Act

Answer 41

Raised school leaving age to 16 and encouraged LEAs to set up work experience placements. Helped school leavers find work

Question 42

1976 Education Act

Answer 42

Asked LEAs to submit proposals for making schools comprehensive. Failed to force them

Question 43

1976 Yellow Book

Answer 43

Suggested progressive education methods caused harm to teaching, school discipline had declined and school curricular didn't prepare students to have a productive role in the economy