managed to avoid the problem of whether or not to reform the Poor Law by ignoring it altogether
it set about building new institutions that were completley separate from the poor law system
the early legislation, concerning children and the elderly, was the culmination of discussions that had taken place over many years
the later legislation, involving sickness and unemployment, took the government into new and uncharted territory
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Old age pensions
prompted by the failure of the friendly societies
the idea was developed in the 1890s by Booth, urging the introduction of a non-contributory pension scheme whereby the elderly would receive a pension by right, funded from taxation
contributory schemes were strongly favoured by the COS and all those who supported self-help
it was argued that the cost of introducing such a scheme would be prohibitive: an estimated £16 million in the 1890s, more than was spent on poor relief
in 1909, the liberal government's proposal was put before parliament
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The Old Age Pensions Act 1909
pensions were non-contributory and were funded from taxes
pensions were paid to men and women over the age of 70, and they were to be paid through post office
a single person recieved 5s a week and married couples 7s 6d, later raised to 10s
full pensions were paid only to those with incomes of less than 8s a week; those with incomes of between 8s and 12s received a reduced pension on a sliding scale; over 12s a week, there was no pension at all
to qualify for a pension, men and women needed to have been British citizens resident in Britain for 20 years
pensions were not paid to people who had continually failed to find work, who had been in prison in the last ten years, who had claimed poor relief in the two years, or who were drunkards
did not reduce the number of elderly people receiving relief in workhouses, as many such people were too frail and vulnerable to be able to care for themselves even if they had an independent source of income
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The Labour Exchnages Act 1909
gradually people were coming to understand that there were bound to be periods of trade depression when people could not find work
aimed at the decausualisation of labour, passed through parliament without much dispute
set up labour exchanges that were intended to help the unemployed find any work that was available
only by 'signing on' at a labour exchange would it be known that a person was unemployed and could qualify for unemployment payments
closely tied in to the national insurance act 1911
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Trade Boards Act 1909
dealt with employment
provided for the creation of boards in specific sweated trades
set legally enforceable minimum wage criteria
no attempt was made to define what was menat by a minimum wage
wages were no longer arrived at by a private agreement between employer and employee
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National Insurance Act Part 1
an attempt to support when ill-health struck the main breadwinner
the scheme applied to all workers earning less than £160 a year and all manual workers aged 16-60
employees contributed 4d, employers 3d and the state 2d per week into the state insurance scheme
insured people recieved 10s a week for up to 13 weeks and then 5s a week for a further 13 weeks in any one year
payments were to be made through approved societies
maternity care was provided, with a one-off benefit of 30s
free treatment was given by a medical practitioner and all drugs and medicines were free
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National Insurance Act Part 2
insurance against unemployment
employers, employees and the state each contributed 2 and a half shillings to the scheme
workers could claim unumeployment benefit of 7s a week for up to 15 weeks in any one year
no claim could be paid if unemployment resulted from a person being dismissed for misconduct
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