Creating a Welfare Ste 1951-79

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  • Created on: 16-03-17 12:34
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  • Creating a welfare state 1951-79
    • Social Welfare
      • Changing Attitudes
        • Younger people were less inclined to endorse the collectivist thinking that had emerged from the depression and WW2.
          • Supported policies favouring the individual rather than the community as a whole.
        • Many criticised welfare claimants as 'scroungers', irrespective of circumstances
        • Large sections of the working class were aspirational, aiming to increase their standard of living, buy their own homes and enjoy consumerism.
          • They had little sympathy for policies that meant higher taxes.
        • When Margaret Thatcher became Conservative leader in 75, she embraced the New Right thinking on welfare, hoping to appeal to aspirational voters.
      • Funding / Economics
        • Due to the terms of the 1976 IMF loan, Labour gov had to retrench and cut the welfare budget.
          • New consensus that Britain could no longer provide welfare 'from the cradle to the grave'
            • Former consensus replaced by a new one of reduced welfare provision.
      • Changes
        • Many felt it was wrong for taxpayers to pay for welfare.
        • Many argued welfare caused people to be dependent on benefits.
          • Thought people wouldn't want to find work & would rather recieve benefits.
    • Education
      • Universities
        • 1963 ROBBINS REPORT warned Britain was being overtaken by other countries in terms of Uni performance.
          • Recommened goal of five times more student places by 1980.
        • Open University opened in 1971 as an institution based on distance learning, poeple could study at home.
        • Conservative & Labour reduced funding for uni's due to retrenchment policies.
          • Number of uni students continued to grow, due to rising population, expectations & continued grants and tuition fees.
      • Comprehensives
        • Allowed everyone education of some form.
        • Intended to offer what Labour PM Harold Wilson called 'grammar schools for all.'
        • First Comprehensive opened in Kidbrooke 1954.
        • They were flexible, offered greater variety of courses with more resources.
        • CROWTHER REPORT 1959: Raise school leaving age to 16.
          • Create country colleges for post 16 education & create more technical colleges.
            • Developing more sixth form courses.
        • NEWSOM REPORT 1963: Schools develop curricula suitable for all pupils, not just academic ones.
          • Links between deprivation and poor educational attainment should be investigated more thouroughly.
      • Social Mobility
        • Extension of uni education funded by the taxpayer had dramatic impact on Britain's social mobility.
          • Opened up professions to bright students who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to study.
            • This extended the opportunity for more to rise beyond their background, however, the costs were huge and lead to retrenchment by the 1980's.
    • Healthcare
      • Challenges
        • There had been little investment in modernising NHS hospitals.
        • Little done to tackle inequalities of provision.
          • Attempts to remedy this were only partly successful.
        • Increasing demand on NHS resources as new treatments developed.
          • Lead to rising expectations and growing costs.
            • Government spent less on health than other European countries.
      • Improvements in treatment
        • More vaccinations available universally.
          • Vaccinations for TB, polio,
        • First kidney transplant in 1960 at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
        • Contraceptive pill contributed to female sexual freedom.
        • First full hip replacement carried out in 62, first heart transplant in 68 in London.
        • The CT scanner invented in 72, standard equipment for hospitals = improved patient care.
      • Funding
        • When Thatcher was elected in 79, Conservative party remained committed to providing an NHS.
        • Conservatives maintained Labours level of spending and significantly increased it during early 60's.

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