How far had the Welfare of the British people advanced over the period

DLG 1918-22

The Maternity and Child Welfare Act 1918- Updated benefits introduced in the 1919 budget. 

Old age pensions improved- Remove some exclusions and restrictions imposed in 1909.

Health Insurance- 1911 Act extended to all people earning up £250 a year. 

Industrial Courts Act 1919- Arbitration scheme to improve earlier legislation of 1836 and 1908- helped employees gain redress for industrial industries.

Ex-Servicemen allowed special unemployment benefits under scheme that lasted until March 1921.

Rent Controls from during war continued under new Act of Parliament.

1918 Act to prevent wage reductions for period of 6 months, then renewed provisions regularly until September 1920. This helped avoid wage cuts due to decrease of demands after war.

Miners- 7 hour day. Miner's welfare fund

New unemployment Insurance Act, 1921- Transferred claimants to new uninsured scheme after 26 weeks of unemployment rather than the much hated Poor Law. 

Unemployed Dependents Act- Benefits for families

Addison Act, 1919- Government subsidies to build 70,000 houses a year ('homes fit for heroes' promise). Offered at low rents for a number of years until deemed practical to raise to more realistic market rate.

STANLEY BALDWIN, 1923-4

Chamberlain's Housing Act 1923- Private builders were given subsidies to build houses. This helped people who could afford to buy their homes. By 1929 438,000 houses had been built. The poor were not affected.

RAMSAY MACDONALD, 1924

Wheatley's Housing Act- Treat housing as a recurrent difficulty and to make up for the failures of the Coalition government to tackle the shortage. Increased Chamberlain's subsidy from £6 to £9 and the length of time over which it was payable from 20 to 40 years. Did much to relieve longstanding housing shortage. Construction of 571, 700 houses within the next nine years, the main beneficiaries being the large cities, especially Birmingham. Failed to deal with problem of low-quality. Slum-clearance not promoted and conditions remained dreadful for large numbers of the impoverished and unemployed. Did nothing to provide effective rent controls- rent strikes in London and Glasgow.

Charles Trevelyan, minister of education-reduce the impact of the Geddes Act- restoring state scholarships. Set up the Hadow Committee, which eventually reported in 1926- proposed that the school leaving age be raised to 15 and that primary schooling be separated at the age of 11 from secondary schooling, which everyone had an entitlement.

MacDonald's ministry soon made it clear…