Background Throughout World War II the country was run by a government formed from a coalition of Labour Conservative and Liberal politicians During the war the government became much more involved in peoples lives As part of the war effort the government organised the rationing of foodstu ID: 410069
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Slide1
How effective were the Labour reforms in creating a welfare state?Slide2
Background
Throughout World War II, the country was run by a government formed from a coalition of Labour, Conservative and Liberal politicians.
During the war, the government became much more involved in people's lives. As part of the war effort, the government organised the rationing of foodstuffs, clothing and fuel and gave extra milk and meals to expectant mothers and children.
M
ost people welcomed this government intervention and wanted it to go further. The government was seen to be taking an active interest in providing for the welfare of the people.Slide3
William Beveridge
Beveridge
produced a report on the social welfare of Britain and, among other things, he stated that there were ‘Five Giants’ that had to be tackled relating to social welfare
Want (Social Security)
Disease
Squalor (Poor housing)
Ignorance (Education)
Idleness (Employment)Slide4
Labour
In 1945, contrary to expectations, Labour won a landslide victory at the General Election and with an overall majority in Parliament there was nothing to stop the new government from carrying out its manifesto programme. Quite simply, the British public believed that a Labour government would be more likely to pursue a vigorous programme of social reform. Labour's reforms were based on the
Beveridge
Report so it could not claim that it had created the ideas itself and it began tackling the five giants identified by
Beveridge
.Slide5
Effectiveness of the reforms
In this essay, you are expected to discuss what Labour did to tackle these ‘five giants’ and make an evaluation about how successful they were in creating the welfare state. Slide6
WANTSlide7
National Insurance act
National Insurance act passed in 1946 – Extension of 1911 Liberal Insurance act.
The act created a compulsory contributory scheme for every worker.
In return for weekly contributions from employees, employers and the state, workers were entitled to :
Sickness and unemployment benefits
Old age pensions
Maternity grants
Death grantsSlide8
Analysis of Insurance Act
Positive
Compulsory – so meant every worker was covered regardless of what happened. Financial security for workers in times of sickness or unemployment.
Provided
everyone
with a pension.
Negative
Contributions took up about 5% of people’s average earnings.
Had to pay 156 contributions to be eligible for sick pay
Pensions and benefits were still not enough to live on Slide9
National Assistance act
Introduced in 1948 – this was designed to help those who were not in work or who had not paid enough contributions to qualify for full benefit.
If people required extra help, they could apply for extra assistance. After sitting a
means test
they would receive a certain amount of money.
This was designed as a
safety net
to ensure that nobody, working or not, fell into poverty.Slide10
Analysis of National Assistance act
Positive
Paired with National Insurance, this really did provide a safety net for people through which nobody should fall into serious poverty.
Negative
Means test – Many still felt there was stigma attached to this and did not apply because of the means test.
Benefits still too low which left families still living below the subsistence level.Slide11
Positives of Social Security
Comprehensive system – NI + NA made sure
everyone
was covered – Safety Net.
Women + others not covered before are now covered.
Reduces poverty in Britain.Slide12
Negatives of Social Security
Benefits and pensions still aren’t enough to live on.
Took up 5% of people’s salary.
Inflation reduces effectiveness of benefits.
Means test keeps stigma of ‘paupers’ – many don’t apply.
156 contributions needed before sick pay. Slide13
Want - Evaluation
Labour can be criticised because of small things, such as needing 156 contributions to be eligible for benefits and benefits not being enough to live on. However, they created a very firm social security structure, which the National Assistance act aided greatly as it meant that benefits were available to
all
who needed them, regardless of circumstances. The biggest accomplishment of this system was that it was
comprehensive
.Slide14
DiseaseSlide15
National Health Service (NHS)
Healthcare had to be paid for before the NHS (half the male workforce was entitled to some assistance but wives and families did not qualify). Families had to rely on help from friends, families and charity in times of sickness. The NHS offered free healthcare from general medical care, to dental care and glasses.
Considered the greatest achievement of the Labour Government because of its continued existence and that it affects everyone’s lives.
The NHS was based on 3 aims –
Universal access – available to everyone
Comprehensive – meeting all demands and treating all problems
Free – service was to be free at the point of use (paid for through taxation and NI payments)
Simply, it was system that would provide free healthcare to
all citizens of the UK.Slide16
NHS
The National Health Service faced a backlog of untreated problems, with doctors, dentists and opticians being inundated with patients queuing up for treatment that they had previously been unable to afford. Prescriptions rose from 7 million per month before the NHS to 13.5 million per month in September 1948.Slide17
Analysis of NHS
Positive
Gave everyone free healthcare regardless of class or wealth.
Backlog of problems highlighted showed that there was clearly a need for such a system.
Historians
Sked
and Cook describe the NHS ‘almost revolutionary social innovation since it improved the quality of life of most of the British people’Slide18
Analysis of NHS
Negative
Massive expense – By 1950 the NHS was costing £358 million per year. Because of this, Labour had to back track on the principle of a free service by introducing charges for spectacles and dental treatment, as well as prescription charges in 1952.
Webster argues that the NHS failed to improve the general medical service available to the bulk of the population. Middle classes benefited to some extent but the lower classes continued to receive inferior service, especially after the introduction of prescription charges in 1952. Slide19
NHS - Evaluation
It must be noted that the NHS did cost the Government massively and the introduction of prescription charges and dental charges went against the fundamental ideas of the NHS. However, to focus only on this and not on the impact it had on people’s lives is to ignore all the benefits the NHS provided. The NHS now meant that people could receive much needed medical care. This is shown by the increase in prescriptions and the huge backlog of problems highlighted by the NHS. Slide20
Ignorance (Education)Slide21
Education
Education varied across the country – primary education had been established for some time, but many could not afford to send their children to secondary school.
The aims of the Labour education reforms was to ensure there was equality of opportunity and that the working class could progress without the hindrance of fees.Slide22
Education Act 1944
The 1944 Education Act done a number a things:
School was compulsory until 15 years of age.
Free secondary education was provided for all
Schools provided meals, milk and medical services.
The ‘11+ exam’ was introduced to place children in certain types of school – junior and senior secondary schools (seen as the best)Slide23
Analysis of Education Act 1944
Positive
Pupils would now stay until 15, ensuring they received some form of education.
Meals were also provided, improving the health of children.Slide24
Analysis of Education Act 1944
Negative
11+ test went against the principle of equality that was at the heart of the Labour education reforms – those in senior secondary were seen to receive a better education.
Middle classes benefited, but not many working class. MC could not go to school for free and would often be given places in senior schools.
Even if they did get positions in high schools, many working class people were still pressured to work to bring a wage in for their family in their late teens.Slide25
SQUALOR
(HOUSING)Slide26
HOUSING
Most of Britain still had slum areas and overcrowding was a serious problem made worse by bomb damage during the war. To deal with the problem of squalor the government concentrated on the building of decent homes for the working class after the war.Slide27
Housing the
Homeless – Pre
Fabs
The first priority was to house the homeless
.
Aimed to build 200,000 houses per year.
The government continued with the war-time policy of putting up ‘pre-fabricated’ homes.
Prefabs were ready made factory built houses that would be put up quickly
157,000 prefabs were built – they were used for much longer than was originally planned.Slide28
New Towns Act, 1946
This act tried to solve the problem of overcrowding in cities by planning new communities.
14
new towns including
Glenrothes
and East Kilbride in Scotland were
planned and built by 1951.
These new towns were carefully planned out industrial areas would be built away from housing areas.
Communities would have schools, shops and leisure facilities.Slide29
Town and Country Planning Act, 1947
Local authorities could buy land for building low cost
homes – council houses.
Local authorities received a 75% subsidy for building council houses.
By 1951 700,000 houses had been built but there was still a shortage of 750,000 homes.
Poor housing and homelessness were still serious problems.Slide30
Analysis of housing reforms
Positive
Prefabs provided temporary housing.
700,000 council houses built – decent quality for working class families.
12 New Towns designed and built – helped overcrowding.
A great deal was achieved despite shortages of workers/materials.Slide31
Analysis of housing reforms
Negative
Many prefabs were used much longer than planned.
Government did not create a separate Ministry of Housing – this would have made the planning and implementation of new houses and towns more efficient.
750,000 homes still needed – short of target.
Homelessness and poor housing continued.
Some say Bevan favoured quality over quantity – should have focused on building more houses.Slide32
Evaluation
In housing, the Labour Government's record is far from praiseworthy, not comparing well with either pre-war levels or with the record of the Conservatives in the 1950s. Poor housing and homelessness were still serious problems at the end of the Labour administration in 1951. However, given the severe social and economic problems facing the government in 1945 after the end of WWII, paired with the short time scale they gave themselves, perhaps the government deserves a little more praise.Slide33
IDLENESS
(Unemployment)Slide34
Full Employment
The post war Labour government aimed for a policy of full employment – everyone who wanted a job could get one.
Labour introduced a number of measures to achieve this. Slide35
Nationalisation
When an industry becomes nationalised, it means the Government takes control of it.
In theory, this means the Government takes over these industries and runs them for the benefit of the country instead of private owners. This meant that Labour could control and manage the economy better and maintain full employment. Slide36
Analysis
Full employment
was (nearly)
met, however there is debate over whether or not this was down to Labour or to the circumstances surrounding the economy after the war.
Nationalisation meant that the Government could subsidise industries that needed help and ensure that people remained in work.
However, many claim the industries under the Govt’s control were actually inefficient and cost the taxpayer more money.Slide37
Negative
However, there was a boom in private investment after the war and also a huge need to rebuild. Some argue that this soaked up all the workers, providing employment and Labour took credit for it.
Women also tended to be out of work due to attitudes of the time – cannot claim to be a welfare state due to this.Slide38
Evaluation
Labour were extremely successful in tackling unemployment. Along with the NHS, this is probably most successful performance by Labour. It is made more impressive due to the shortage of resources after the war (wider context). However, some say that any Government would have tackled unemployment as the need to rebuild meant that people were employed across Britain.