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History > U2 - How effective were the Liberal Reforms 1906-14 > Flashcards

U2 - How effective were the Liberal Reforms 1906-14 Flashcards

1
Q

Reforms for what groups

A 
Y - Young
O - Old
U - Unemployment
S - Sick
E - Employed
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2
Q

Young Reforms

A
  • School Meals
  • School Medical Inspections
  • The Children’s Charter
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3
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Problem

A
  • Introduction of compulsory education brought to light that children from slum areas were too hungry to learn
  • Before 1906, it was illegal for Local Authority School Boards to provide free school meals
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4
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Problem - Stats

A
  • A report published in 1889 indicated that over 50,000 pupils in London alone were attending school “in want of food”
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5
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Action

A
  • First reform introduced after their success in the election was the Provision of School Meals Act in 1906
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6
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Action - Provision of School Meals Act in 1906

A
  • Allowed local authorities to provide school meals to needy children
  • Only encourage local authorities to take measure as they saw fit i.e. not compulsory
  • Gave local authorities powers to raise a halfpenny on the local tax, if necessary to feed needy school meals
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7
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Negative

A
  • Schools Meal Act was a rather cautious piece of legislation (not compulsory)
  • Local authorities were slow to respond to the legislation ad by 1939 less than 50% were providing this service
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8
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Negative (Quote)

A
  • “Only a small measure and produced only limited progress” (Fraser)
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9
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Positive

A
  • Research in 1907 showed clear correlation between weight gain during school terms and weight lost during the school holidays - these children had school meals
  • Also 1914 the government provided local authorities with grants of half the costs for providing school meals
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10
Q

Young

Children - School Meals - Positive (results)

A
  • By 1914, 14 million school meals per year were being provided for 158,000 children
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11
Q

Young

Children - School Medical Inspections - Problem

A
  • Introduced in order to reduce the outbreaks of disease which were common at this time
  • Government report in 1908 found that 55% of children with medical problems had not been treated
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12
Q

Young

Children - School Medical Inspections - Problem - Diseases

A
  • 80% had defective teeth
  • 30% had lice or nits
  • 9% had rickets due to inadequate nutrition
  • 50% of recruits to Boer War (1899-1902) were unfit to serve
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13
Q

Young

Children - School Medical Inspections - Action

A
  • In 1907, the Education Act made medical inspections for children compulsory
  • This act specify that at least 3 inspections must take place during a child’s school years
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14
Q

Young

Children - School Medical Inspections - Negative

A
  • No such measures introduced after school life
  • They did not improve the health conditions of adults or school leavers
  • Was seen as an act of cruelty towards children as they didn’t offer treatment/solutions
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15
Q

Young

Children - School Medical Inspections - Positive

A
  • This step helped national health levels in children

- By 1914 most authorities were providing some medical treatment for children

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16
Q

Young

Children - The Children’s Charter - Problem

A
  • Children were treated like adults e.g. prisons
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17
Q

Young

Children - The Children’s Charter - Action

A
  • Banned children under the age of fourteen from public houses
  • Children under 16 were forbidden to some or drink alcohol, or beg
  • Borstals were set up to deal with children convicted of breaking the law, to keep away from adult criminals
  • Children were tried in Juvenile Courts
  • Probation officers were employed to guide young offenders when they were released from borstal
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18
Q

Young

Children - The Children’s Charter - Negative

A
  • Begging had provided a good source of income for families
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19
Q

Younf

Children - The Children’s Charter - Positive

A
  • Children were now being better treated
20
Q

Old

Problem

A
  • Booth had highlighted the extent of poverty associated with old age
  • The elderly were by far the largest section of society who were poor
  • Some areas of Britain nearly half of all old people were forced to end their lives in the workhouse due to poverty
21
Q

Old

Action

A
  • Everyone over the age of 70 as of right were entitled to old age pension
  • Entitled people to 5 shillings per week (or less depending)
22
Q

Old

Action - Requirements for Pension

A
  • Over 70 years
  • Were British (were no passport/birth certificates)*
  • Lived in Britain for 20 years*
  • Not been in prison for the last 10 years
  • Not avoided work in the past*
  • Not been detained for drunkenness in the last 10 years
  • Hard to prove
23
Q

Old

Positive

A
  • No insurance contributions were necessary - was a right
  • 75% decrease in old people having to enter the workhouse between 1906 and 1913
  • Nearly 1 million elderly were apply for the pension in 1914 (double the 1908 figure)
  • Most exemptions had been swept away by 1911
24
Q

Old

Positive - Quote

A
  • “It removed the dreaded threat of the workhouse” (Richard Shannon - The Crisis of Imperialism)
25
Q

Old

Negative

A
  • The pension fell below most existing poverty lines
  • Only half a million elderly qualified in 1908
  • Many people didn’t reach 70 years old
  • Appeared to be designed to allow the least amount of pensions to be entitled
  • Pressure from war against Germany - DLG didn’t know where to put money: War or Elderly
26
Q

The Sick Worker

Problem

A
  • Free National Health Service did not yet exist and the poor could not usually afford medical attention
  • Many people could work due to ill health
27
Q

The Sick Worker

Action

A
  • Liberals passed the National Insurance Act 1911
  • Compulsory insurance against sickness for earnings up to £160 p.a
  • Employee paid 4d, employer 3d and state 2d
  • 10s for 13 weeks, then 5s for another 13 in one year
28
Q

The Sick Worker

Action - Entitled to

A
  • Free health care
  • Maternity benefit of 30s paid
  • If worker had TB would get allowance for treatment at a sanatorium
29
Q

The Sick Worker

Positive

A
  • Hugh improvement on existing provision
  • This act + unemployment insurance helped reduce poverty
  • Gave workers security and peace of mind
  • Workers were more likely to seek medical care now as they were covered
  • Many workers getting professional medical treatment for 1st time
30
Q

The Sick Worker

Positive - Stats

A
  • 10 million men and 4 million women were covered by National Insurance
31
Q

The Sick Worker

Negative

A
  • No provision for hospitals
  • Failed to include dependants in scheme (mostly women) (only enough for you not families)
  • Another tax on low wages
  • Everyone paid the same no matter on income (flat-rate contributions)
  • Government admitted that it was only the beginning
32
Q

The Unemployed

Labour Exchanges Act 1909 - Problem

A
  • Unemployed would have to walk from factory asking if there were any vacancies - inefficient & dispiriting
  • Factories had difficulties matching jobs with suitable skilled employees
33
Q

The Unemployed

Labour Exchanges Act 1909 - Action

A
  • Labour exchanges were set up throughout Britain
  • Unemployed could go to a local labour exchange to look for a job instead of walking to factories
  • Efficient for employers who could post jobs available
  • Workers could claim benefits by signing on at the labour exchange
34
Q

The Unemployed

Labour Exchanges Act 1909 - Positive

A
  • By 1913, there were 430 labour exchanges in Britain
  • They were dealing with 2 million workers per year by 1914
  • They were a “great success” (Rees, historian)
35
Q

The Unemployed

Labour Exchanges Act1909 - Negative

A
  • Workers initially feared the labour exchanges were an employer’s tool to recruit strike breakers
36
Q

The Unemployed

National Insurance Act Part 2 (1911) - Problem

A
  • Seasonal lay-offs were common e.g. no more work: told to leave
  • Unemployment was the major cause of poverty among the workforce
37
Q

The Unemployed

National Insurance Act Part 2 (1911) - Action

A
  • Insured workers in trade which were hit the most by seasonal unemployment or trade depression
  • Compulsory for works in these trades to join scheme
  • Workers and employers each paid 2 1/2d a week and state contributed
  • If you became unemployed you could get 7s a week for 15 weeks in any 1 year
38
Q

The Unemployed

National Insurance Act Part 2 (1911) - Positive

A
  • Scheme marked advance on previous help to unemployed
  • Helped soften the worst effects of unemployment
  • Gave workers a sense of security
39
Q

The Unemployed

National Insurance Act Part 2 (1911) - Negative

A
  • Unemployment benefits were cut off after 15 weeks for ‘not genuinely seeking work’ even if there was no work in area
  • Amount paid was not enough for basic living
  • Everyone paid the same (flat-rates)
40
Q

The Unemployed

National Insurance Act Part 2 (1911) - Negative: Quote

A
  • Scheme was “merely a lifebelt” (R.C Birch, Historian)
41
Q

Employed

Problem

A
  • Low pay, long hours and exploitation of workers exist in a number of industries
42
Q

Employed

Action - 1906 Act

A

Workmen’s Compensation Act 1906

  • Nearly all employees are protected against industrial injuries
  • Employers were liable to pay compensation for industrial disease contracted by workforce
43
Q

Employed

Action - 1908 Act

A
  • Coal Mines Act 1908

- Gave miners an eight-hour day

44
Q

Employed - 1911 Act

A
  • Shops Act 1911

- Gave shops workers a half-day off every week an reasonable meal breaks

45
Q

Employed

Effectiveness

A
  • Taken together, these laws were a significant improvement of working conditions for millions of workers
46
Q

General Criticism of Liberal Reforms

A
  • Reforms were modest
  • Only covered certain categories of people
  • Government did little about poor state of housing and public health

History (11 decks)

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