A - Level History Edexcel Unit 2 Britain PDF

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A - Level History Edexcel Britain 1918-1989 Unit 2 Britain. ...

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Welfare Support

Pre-1918: -

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Poor Laws: welfare aid given in form of money or necessities to those in need (Usually old, young, sick and poor) First three = deserving poor (These were rightly cared for by the relatives, church, private organisations and increasingly the state) Undeserving poor: (healthy people who fell into poverty were seen as morally at fault) – Housed in workhouses were conditions were deliberately terrible to discourage the able bodied from poverty Having to prove you ‘deserved’ welfare = hated + humiliating experience

From 1908 Liberal Government inaugurated a huge expansion of state welfare: -

New mechanisms were open to all who qualified No distinction between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving poor’

1911 National Insurance Act: -

Employers, employees and government would contribute to the insurance scheme Provided healthcare + benefits through funds generated However: Scheme only applied to low paid workers Only applied to 6 industries when created Did not insure worker’s families

1917: Ministry of Construction: -

Post WW1 it was largely accepted that government had a role to play in insuring individuals had basic security Liberal Government promised ‘land fit for heroes’ Ministry or reconstruction: (Established to build a better Britain after the war)

Interwar Years Unemployment Unemployment = most pressing issue for inter-war governments and peaked above 3 million in the 1930’s. Continued conflict between supporting the unemployed and balancing the books

Problems with national insurance scheme:

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Self-funding National insurance scheme implemented by 1911 National Insurance Act was undermined by the war as returning troops were not eligible for benefits provided (As they hadn’t worked in one of the specified industries or had not made sufficient contributions) Wartime coalition realised a difficult solution was developing National insurance scheme would need to be redesigned Unemployed couldn’t be left to rely on Old Poor Law

‘Out of work donation’ 1918-20: -

Short term solution to help returning troops + civilian unemployed was to issue dole money but under the name ‘out of work donation’ - Issued to remaining troops and then civilian unemployed until they found work (Paid out of taxation + borrowing with no link to individual contributions) - Meant to be temporary - Consequence: 1) Government accepted duty to support unemployed, regardless of insurance contributions 2) Provided more money for family dependents 1920 Unemployment Insurance Act: -

Developed to offer longer term solution and cover those not employed by the National Insurance Act 2/3 workers eligible to claim insurance Act was passed just as affects of post war slump were kicking in However: Rather than creating self-funding system, the greater number of eligible claimants quickly drained the accumulated funds - 1921: Government forced to make ‘extended’ payments ( these were meant to be paid for through worker contributions from future employment but were dole payments disguised as insurance) - They made this law as Poor Law could not cope with the scale of the problem and minsters feared a revolution if the unemployed were not supported - Government were already pressured following strikes in 1919 over pay and conditions - Attempts were made to limit the expense: - 1921: ‘seeking work test’ was implemented – within 1 year 3 million claims had been rejected because of the test 1929 Local Government Act: -

Said that county + borough council had to set up Public Assistance Committees (Pac’s) They were central funded + replaced the poor law guardians who had administered funds under the poor law In response to 1931 financial crisis; PAC’s given power to administer means test to claimants Their combined house-hold incomes was thoroughly investigated to judge eligibility for dole payments Means test was hated, seen as an invasion of privacy + unfair, as some PAC’s were more stringent than others

1934 Unemployment Act:

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Separated the treatment of insurable from long term employment 1) Provided 26 weeks of benefits payments to workers who had paid into the scheme 2) Created national Unemployment Assistance Board (UAB) to help those with no entitlement to insurance benefits 1937: UAB had assisted 1 million people on a national means tested basis Poor Law provisions shrunk to just a few groups not covered by the UAB (Included widows who could not yet claim a pension + deserted wives)

However: Government had not been able to solve unemployment because spending cuts + tax rises could not stimulate economic growth Only after rearmament began in 1936 was unemployment finally tackled Pensions 1908 Pensions Act: -

State pensions were introduced Hugely popular with the eligible over 70’s Criticisms that they were means tested and did not support the widows + children of the deceased

1925 Widows, Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act: -

Brought in by Neville Chamberlain – Minister of Health Addressed criticisms of the 1908 Pensions Act Provided adequate pensions for those aged 65-70 + provided for widows, their children and orphans Funded by compulsory contribution rather than taxation Initially unpopular with Labour Party (They thought it unfairly penalised the poor) Tough economic conditions + ageing population led to its acceptance Self-employed workers of both sexes were allowed to join the scheme

Housing Reasons for reform: -

Concerns that slums promoted crime + disease Lots of slum clearances took place pre 1918 Major improvements in urban living standards achieved by introduction of mains water + sewage to homes 1899: Only ¼ of homes in Manchester had flushing toilets Government had promised ‘land fir for heroes’

1919 Housing and Town Planning Act:

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Aimed to empower local authorities to use central government funds to meet housing needs Estimate of 600,000 homes needed to be built to meet demand but only 213,000 built before recession lead to Geddes Axe cut This lead to: Worsening of housing shortages Young married couples ended up having to live with their parents

Conservative and Labour Housing Acts 1923 + 1924, Labour 1930: -

19223 + 1924 acts sought to use subsidies to encourage the construction of private and state-owned housing - This + Labour Housing Act 1930, promoted a great deal of house building between the wars - 4 million built in total (1 million by the public sector) 1930 Act: - Used state funds in order to re-house people living in over crowded cities - 20 ‘Cottage estates’ were built on the outskirts of London (new suburbs connected to the centre by rail) Although housing quality did improve not all were successful - Becontree estate ( 26,000 houses + flats) : a lack of jobs nearly led to disaster, only avoided thanks to the construction of a new ford car factory nearby - With new homes came indoor plumbing + gardens and also an increased demand in domestic goods - E.G. Furniture - This further stimulated the economy + helped raise the average standard of living

Impact of WW2 Impact of total war on social welfare: Lead to wide consensus that welfare provision needed a radical overhaul. Political will developed to iron out the unfairness + inconsistency of the system Reasons for shift in attitudes: - Total war had prompted total solutions which affected all such as universal rationing + communal bomb shelters (Giving a boost to universalist as opposed to selective solutions) - Sacrifices made during the war led the public expecting a just reward (discussions of fair shares which should continue into peace time took place) - Evacuation of children to the countryside showed the extent of poverty (this contributed to the acceptance of need for change) - Success of state directed war economy increased political belief in political state intervention to improve people’s lives after the war - The war forced government to borrow + spend lots of money and this was a success which people believed could be applied to social welfare - War farced a wartime government + led to greater deal of co-operation over war time policy (White papers of 1944 were the basis of the 1946 National Insurance Act + helped to promote conservative acceptance of the act)

Beveridge Report 1942

William Beveridge = Liberal politician with an interest in social reform. 141 he was appointed to head a government committee to investigate welfare provisions + recommend improvements Reasons for creation of report: -

Set up at Churchill’s request Partly to predict future developments Conservatives did not want a repeat of broken promise of ‘land fit for heroes’ post WW1 War was being fought to create a better world therefore more inclusive welfare was fundamental

Aims of report: -

Protection for all ‘from cradle to grave’ Tackle the five giants of: Want (Through National Insurance) Disease (Through the NHS) Ignorance (Through better education) Squalor (Through re-housing) Idleness (Through the maintenance of full employment)

- Beveridge wanted provision of state welfare to be centralised, regulated + systematically organised - State welfare should not be funded entirely by compulsory single insurance payment - Wanted to avoid ‘means-tested’ assistance payments (And avoid the rise of a ‘Santa-Clause State’ - As a Liberal he did not want the system to incentivise dependence on the state Although findings were not new, he drew together many findings that had taken place as a coherent + consolidated programme for post-war reconstruction Popularity of the Report: -

635,000 copies sold Popularity was explained by timing as winning the war made these prospects seem more realistic Copies dropped over Germany to encourage civilian population to demand peace

Atlee Government: Labour party won 1945 election with slogan ‘let us face the future’ Promised to implement recommendations of the Beveridge Report + introduced welfare state in Britain Acts passed as part of the Welfare State: -

1944 Butler Education Act: Compulsory free education with tripartite system and 11+ exam to decide what school was most suitable (grammar, modern or technical)

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1945 Family Allowances Act: Weekly payments for every child after the 1st (Money paid directly to the mother)

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1946 National Insurance Act: Created compulsory system to help pay for pensions + benefits for the unemployed. Payments made by employer, employee + government. Payments made in times of sickness, maternity expenses, widowhood + retirement

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1946 National Health Service Act: Free medical + hospital treatment for the whole population

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1946: Industrial Injuries Act: Cover for accidents that happened at work

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1948: National Assistance Act: Set up boards to deal with the hardship of poverty (Did not have vigorous means of means testing and therefore was popular)

Other Changes: Housing: - 700,000 homes had been destroyed during the war - 230,000 homes built by 1948 (However 240,000 were needed) - 4/5 homes were built by the state - Pre-fabricated homes were a key focus for efficient quick building - Licences to produce homes were limited in order to achieve quality - 1946 New Towns Act: Created new towns, moving people out of crowded cities Nationalisation: - 1946-49: Coal, civil aviation, cable, wireless, Bank of England, transport, electricity, gas etc were all nationalised Education: - 900 primary schools were built for the baby boom - 250 secondary schools only - School leaving age was raised to 15 Issues with the welfare state: -

BMA were initially opposed to the creation of the NHS, Bevan had to be persistent + ‘stuffing their mouths with gold’ to get doctors to agree to work for the NHS - NHS costs rose year on year (Health budget rose to 4.1% of GNP by 1949) - Welfare state was expensive – Labour had rejected Beveridge’s call for welfare payments to be funded solely through insurance - Nationalisation meant that government had to bear the cost of failing industries

Challenges to the Welfare State 1964-1979 Changes to welfare: -

1959 National Insurance Act; introduced a stop up scheme based on earnings 1971 Family Income Support Programme: Provided family allowance for the first child 1975 Social Security Act

Rising Cost of Welfare: -

Cost of unemployment benefits rose to 8.8% of GDP by 1980 Baby booms in the 50’s + 60’s mean higher care + education costs for children Increase in average life expectancy meant a larger burden on the welfare state New social groups not covered by the Beveridge report emerged (Such as low-wage earning families + single parent families) Higher living standards = demand for a higher minimum standard of living for the poor (as absolute poverty had been tackled people began to focus on relative poverty) Growing size of the welfare state = more beurocracy to make it work

Increased Criticisms of welfare: - Criticisms from the right during the 1970’s on increased spending on welfare (Although spending increased on welfare just as much under Conservatives as it did under labour) - Thatcher was a key critique of the welfare state she feared benefit payments created a poverty trap + encouraged dependence on state - People felt welfare state was unsustainable given the poor state of the economy + commitment to full employment was fuelling inflation - Left attacked welfare state for not doing enough to combat relative poverty

National Health Service – Health Care

Pre 1918: -

Access to healthcare depended on wealth (wealthy could afford healthcare whereas poor couldn’t and became ill often using self medication) Workhouse infirmaries could treat the poor (If these did not exist, the poor had to rely on friendly societies) Friendly Societies: Offered some affordable health insurance schemes Would take a small regular payment then pay a lump sum when people needed financial help Un-regulated, un-compulsory and often would go bankrupt

1911 National Insurance Act: -

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Introduced by Liberal Government Compulsory health insurance for low paid workers Employer, employee + government paid into the scheme which provided free medical treatment + sick pay However: Act only covered 6 industries + would not cover the worker’s families (Women + children were the most vulnerable yet had the least healthcare)

Interwar Years: Reasons for Interwar consensus on healthcare: -

Growing idea that government should play leading role in healthcare provision + investment should be made in medical advances Government should also develop a network of hospitals + ration healthcare Although a debate existed about the extent of government intervention, there was a general agreement that government spending + co-operation of healthcare = critically important

1919 Ministry of Health: -

War recruitment uncovered poor standard of health – 40% of men declared unfit for combat MofH established to coordinate healthcare However: MofH lacked the authority + political will to reform healthcare system Medical services were still controlled by other authorities (Such as School Medical Service + Factory Health Inspectorate)

Insurance Companies: -

Post WW1 there was a growth of large insurance companies (managing 75% of health insurance) Came through the state due to 1911 National Insurance Act ‘Approved societies’ would collect subscriptions + pay costs

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However, widows + children of workers were not insured by insurance act and were reliant on family, local community (friendly societies) or a sympathetic GP

Access to GP’s: -

Were the first resort for medical care Patients had to pay for consultation + medicine GP’s often unevenly distributed (more worked in wealthier areas) Poor would only see a GP at last resort When NHS launched, many doctors were shocked to find poorer patients had been putting up with medical conditions such as rotting teeth due to an inability to afford treatment

Hospital Treatment: -

Best hospitals = teaching hospitals which relied on wealthy donations Voluntary hospitals were smaller + less financially secure (By the end of the 1930’s most were in deep financial trouble)

1929 Local Government Act: -

Poor law hospitals were now in the hands of the local government who converted them into local hospitals Local government was no responsible for the running of key healthcare services such as dentistry + school’s medical services Act made local governments responsible for co-ordinating healthcare provision

Effects of Local Government Act: -

Various forms of hospital care developed such as specialist teaching hospitals GP’s treated more people through the National Insurance Scheme However: Less than half the population were insured against illness + many relied upon traditional remedies + over the counter medicines

However: Healthcare was improving – Infant mortality rates were falling although maternal mortality rates remained high in working class areas

Impact of WW2 -

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Helped to create a consensus on healthcare reform which was underpinned by introduction of a national healthcare system introduced to treat casualties from the blitz 1939 Emergency Medical Service: Established to provide first aid for air raid casualties and to dictate to hospitals health provision (later used to treat civilian and evacuated children) Allowed for resources to be pooled and saw a changing attitude in the medical profession who previously wanted to stay independent of the government who were persuaded by government funding for resources + wages The Emergency Medical Service provided blue print for NHS established after the war National blood transfusion created

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1942 Beveridge Report called for NHS 1944: Government presented white paper ‘A National Health Service’ which called for comprehensive + free charge of medical services in Britain.

Creation of the NHS 1945 Labour leader Atlee was determined to fulfil his promise to establish a NHS Appointed Aneurin Bevan and Minister of Health to carry out the task - Bevan aimed to create a centrally run system, funded through taxes and not insurance - Would provide free health care for all 1946 National Health Service Act Established a far more coordinated, centralised system (voluntary hospitals were nationalised + The approved societies were forced to rely on private clients) Opposition to the NHS: Conservatives: - Voted against formation of the NHS 21 times before the act was passed as they were against state control - Tory members BMA used terms such as ‘medical Gestapo’ + ‘medical fuhrer’ to refer to NHS creators - Bevin attacked the Tories for opposing the NHS saying they were ‘lower than vermin’ Local Authorities: - Didn’t want to lose control of their hospitals BMA: -

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Main source of opposition to the NHS Argued that working for the state would undermine their clinical independence and doctors feared becoming civil servants for the state (In reality more concerned about lost income) 1948: Feb – 90% of BMA voted against the NHS However within 5 weeks of the initially NHS campaign they found themselves out of step with the British public and changed their minds Bevin overcame the doctor’s opposition with granting them a fee for each patient + allowing them to retain private patients (Stuffing their mouths with gold) Doctors gave in and 90% joined the NHS by July 1948

Healthcare 1951-1979 Achievements : -

NHS allowed many Britai...