British History Welfare Mindmap
- Created by: tomtom11
- Created on: 13-05-16 16:35
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- How successfully did British governments provide welfare support in the years 1918-79
- 1918-39
- Unemployment
- National Insurance scheme had benefits paid from a fund generated by member's contributions when employed
- 1911 National Insurance Act.
- War undermined this due to the 3.5m troops not being eligible due to either no contributions or not working in the industry.
- Dole money ('out-of-work donation') was handed out to veterans, and generated through tax and borrowing.
- Unemployment Insurance Act (1920) meant to be self-funding, but then economic times hit hard + 2/3rds of all workers quickly drained funds.
- '21, govt. forced to make extended payments- dole money disguised as insurance.
- Govt. felt forced to do this due to Poor Law not being able to cope, and 2.4m workers already taking part in stikes over pay.
- Attempts made to limit expense= 'seeking work test' implemented in '21 rejected 3m claims by '30.
- 1929 Local Government Act.
- Public Assistance Committees (PACs) set up to issue dole payments. Means tested thru intrusive methods.
- End of '31- 400,000 people were rejected.
- 1934 Unemployment Act.
- Part 1 Provided 26 weeks of benefit payments to the 14.5m workers who paid into the scheme.
- Part 2 Created Unemployment Assistance Board (UAB) to help those with no entitlement to benefits- it assisted 1m people by means-test.
- Unemployment only really tackles after rearmament in 1936.
- National Insurance scheme had benefits paid from a fund generated by member's contributions when employed
- Pensions
- 1908 Pensions Act affected this period greatly and was greatly popular with 70+'s
- Criticisms = means-tested and didn't support widows and children of the deceased.
- 1925 Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act
- Provided a pension of 10 shillings a week for those aged 65-70 + people in title of Act.
- Self-employed workers of both sexes could join the scheme in 1937.
- Successful due to lack of tinkering.
- Housing
- Slums were rampant with crime and disease.
- 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act aimed to build over 600,000 houses, but only built 213,000 before the recession and Geddes Axe
- The estimated shortfall in housing in 1923 was 822,000.
- Housing Acts in 1923, 1924, and 1930.
- First two used subsidies to encourage construction.
- Between 1919 and 1940, 4m houses were built in total.
- '24-'39 = 20 'cottage estates' were created on the outskirts of London.
- Was bad though, Becontree estate built where there were no jobs. Only saved by the new Ford car factory in '31.
- Unemployment
- 1939-64
- Community provision of bomb shelters, evacuation, helped poorer.
- White Paper 'Social Insurance' was the basis of the 1946 National Insurance Act.
- Beveridge Report ('42) told of 'five giants'
- Want
- National Insurance
- Disease
- NHS
- Ignorance
- Better Education
- Squalor
- Rehousing
- Idleness
- Maintenance of full employment.
- The fact the govt. hired Beveridge for this type of job shows aim to make Britain better.
- Want
- Social security implemented through higher taxation. This meant higher pension and unemployment benefits.
- Family Allowances Act (1945) provided mothers with a non-means tested payment payment of five shillings a week for each child apart from her first- amount lower than Beveridge's recommendation.
- National Insurance Act ('46) created a compulsory universal contributory system to help pay for pensions.
- 1959 National Insurance Act introduced a top-up scheme based on earnings, known as the graduated pension.
- 88% of those entitled to family allowance had applied for it by 1949.
- Absolute, but not relative poverty, was tackled.
- 1964-79
- Cost of unemployment benefits increased from 0.6% of GNP in '39 to 5.6% in '50 and 8.8% in '70.
- '75 Social Security Act set up the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (serps)
- Both Tory + Lab governments increased spending on the welfare state- Postwar Consensus. Why, did costs increase?
- Baby booms = more kids
- Increase in the average life expectancy meant more care for the elderly.
- Social groups not considered in the initial plan who demanded more. (one-parent families.
- Higher Living Standards meant poorer demanded higher minimum standard of life.
- '71 Family Income Support programme provided allowance for a first child.
- 1918-39
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