Paper 1 Theme 2

Question 1

What was the nature and extent of welfare before 1918?

Answer 1

• workhouses used for the deserving poor (orphans, the elderly, disabled), 1834 Poor Law amendment act introduced workhouses- poor conditions so it was seen as a last resort
• poverty was seen as laziness and the result of not leading a good Christian life
• welfare provided by Church or local govt
• 1908 Liberal govt- provided pensions for the elderly but it was means tested, introduced employment benefit but it was only for 15 weeks and if you paid into national insurance
• 1918 Ministry of Reconstruction- created by Liberal govt and provided houses for soldiers returning from WW1 but depression in the 1920s meant they had no money to provide it

Question 2

What were changes to welfare 1918-39?

Answer 2

unemployment:

• 1920 Unemployment Insurance act- aimed to increase the number of workers covered by insurance to make the scheme self-funding
• 1929 Local govt act- county and borough councils set up- funded and replaced Poor Law guardians who previously administered funds
• 1931 National economy act
• 1934 Unemployment act- provided 26 weeks of benefits to 14.5 million workers who paid into the scheme. Created an Unemployment Assistance Board to help those with no entitlement to benefits

pensions:
- 1925 widows, orphans and the old age Contributory Pensions Act- provided a pension of 10 shillings a week for those aged 65-70, widows and orphans. It was funded by voluntary contribution, not taxation

housing:

• 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act- govt wanted to use their funds to meet housing needs
• 1923, 1924, 1930 acts- 4 million homes built

Question 3

What were limits to the changes in welfare 1918-39?

Answer 3

housing:

• 1920 Unemployment Insurance act was introduced in the post-war slump so eligible claimants (about 2/3 of workers) quickly drained the funds so it didn’t become self-funding
• 1929 Local govt act meant local govt was given power to means test claimants- not popular because it was an invasion of privacy and unfair
• 1931 National Economy act was means tested and you could only claim for 6 months
• 1934 Unemployment act was good but didn’t solve unemployment, wasn’t for the poorest in society

pensions:
- not compulsory so may have not got enough funding at some points

housing:

• 1919 Housing and Town Planning act- over 600,000 houses would have to be built to meet demand but only 213,000 were built due to recession
• 1923, 1924, 1930 acts- some projects were not well thought through- at the Becontree estate a lack of local jobs nearly led to disaster

Question 4

What was the impact of WW2 on welfare?

Answer 4

1942 Beveridge report- said that the 5 giants (poverty, disease, ignorance, squalor and illness) could be destroyed by universal welfare which workers would pay into. Popular- sold 500k copies

War as the great leveller- no class distinctions, Nazis in the Blitz didn’t identify rich and poor- both were affected, rationing meant everyone ate the same and had the same clothes

Evacuation- Operation Pied Piper- 3.5 million children were sent from the city to the countryside, middle class families looked after w.c children and were shocked at how malnourished they were

Fighting for a ‘better future’- after WW1 the govt promised homes for heroes but there was no money and unemployment

Govt wartime planning- in WW2 there was jobs for everyone- solved unemployment, provided free creches for women working (100,000 women), provided free medical care during the war for those injured

Labour in government- Attlee and Bevin were responsible for running Britain during the war, Labour ministers had knowledge and experience on how to run the country, able to offer realistic proposals for welfare- created a welfare state

Question 5

How was Labour govt effective in provision of welfare for POVERTY 1945-51?

Answer 5

• 1942 National Insurance act created universal, contributory system to help pay for pensions and benefits for unemployment, sickness and maternity benefits, it provided a lot for people
• 1945 Family allowances act provided mothers with 5 shillings a week for each child except the first, good because it was not means tested
• 1948 Industrial accidents act gave additional cover for workplace injuries
• 1948 National Assistance act established the National Assistance Board to provide financial help for single mothers, the blind and deaf- led the authorities to care for these groups. Good because it cared for the most vulnerable groups in society, less rigorous means testing meant more people could claim

Question 6

How was Labour govt limited in provision of welfare for POVERTY 1945-51?

Answer 6

• Family allowances act only gave funds to mothers with more than one child, the final amount provided was less than Beveridge recommended- people weren’t getting enough relief

Question 7

What were economic challenges to welfare 1964-79?

Answer 7

• 1964 £800 million budget defecit as a result of overspending on welfare , PM Harold Wilson was advised to cut welfare benefits to save the economy but he refused
• govt was forced to increase tax in order to pay for the welfare state, by 1966 welfare costs rose to 5% of GDP
• right wing politicians opposed welfare spending because they said it led to economic inefficiency, Conservatives sought to cut govt spending on it
• Conservatives also opposed welfare because they claimed it led to inflation and argued welfare spending required high levels of government borrowing

Question 8

What were social challenges to welfare 1964-79?

Answer 8

• radical Conservatives argued that welfare creates a dependency culture in the 1970s, they said it encouraged people to quit their jobs (not contributing to the economy) and live on small handouts instead of earning a living wage
• a growing number of affluent working and middle class began to see welfare as a problem and looked to politicians who had the same views
• 1970s generational shift had an impact on attitudes to welfare. Large sections of the w.c wanted to get rich instead of defending the rights of their class and they didn’t want high taxes
• by 1979 the welfare state remained but there was no consensus

Question 9

What were political challenges to welfare 1964-79?

Answer 9

• Conservatives said that welfare robbed recipients of the self-respect that people gained through hard work
• Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath as Conservative leaders in 1974- less sympathetic towards the welfare state and led a new generation of Conservatives who no longer believed in post-war consensus, believed that cuts to welfare would encourage people to be more self-reliant
• 1970s right wingers e.g Sir Keith Joseph argued the welfare state led to reduction in personal freedom
• Conservatives entered the 1979 election presenting welfare as bad for the recipient, bad for society and a burden on the taxpayer

Question 10

What were changes to healthcare 1919-1929?

Answer 10

1919 Ministry of Health- negative as it lacked authority to radically change the system, a range of medical services were handled by other authorities

1926 Royal Commission- Conservative govt wanted to scrap or reform the health insurance system. Failed because Neville Chamberlain said insurance companies were too powerful to take on

Health insurance- friendly societies set up to help the poor afford medical treatment, 18 million workers insured BUT only insured men- not wives, widows or children of workers

Access to GPs- in rich areas they succeeded and could earn a good living without many patients HOWEVER in poor areas people only went to the GP as a last resort so they didn’t earn much. People put up with skin diseases and rotting teeth- GPs were shocked by this.

Voluntary hospitals- very prestigious and trained top specialists, 12 were very wealthy and got lots of donations BUT most had to threaten to close to encourage donations and they did not admit the elderly or those with chronic disease

1929 Local govt act- empowered local councils to take over and develop infirmaries into proper hospitals- good because it tried to fix workhouse infirmaries which were often overcrowded BUT there was no compulsion to develop them so development was very slow outside London

Question 11

Why was the role of Aneurin Bevan the most important reason why provision of healthcare changed in the years 1918-79?

Answer 11

• he was Minister of Health for Labour govt 1945-51
• created the NHS in 1948- huge change, gave free, universal healthcare

impact of NHS:

• got new antibiotics developed in the USA
• mass immunisation led to a huge drop is cases of polio and diphtheria
• MMR vaccine given for free
• by 1970 there was a 90% drop in cases of whooping cough
• improves midwifery caused maternal death in childbirth to fall from 1 in 1000 births to 0.18 in 1000

Question 12

Why was WW2 the most important reason why provision of healthcare changed in the years 1918-79?

Answer 12

Wartime health provision: national blood transfusion service set up to help with war casualties, emergency medical service set up in 1939 to treat military and civilian casualties. Special treatments available such as treatment of severe burns and treatment of kidney trauma

Health professional attitudes to govt involvement: supported govt involvement. 1941- 200 doctors signed an agreement supporting govt control, the British Medical association were involved in the 1944 White Paper

1944 White Paper: called for a National Health Service and influenced the 1946 NHS act

Rationing: healthcare improved due to rationing- the rich ate less and the poor ate more. Increased govt propaganda to educate people about healthy habits- showed govt could be responsible m

OVERALL: WW2 laid the groundworks for NHS and Bevan’s work

Question 13

What were challenges to the NHS in the 1940s and 50s?

Answer 13

• the cost of healthcare increased, Bevan thought it would decrease. Increased due to more staff, more demand for healthcare, a backlog of cases to deal with and more treatments being available
• cost of the NHS and the expense of the Korean War caused an argument which led to Bevan’s resignation and caused a split in the Labour party in 1951

Question 14

What were changes to the NHS in the 1960s and 70s?

Answer 14

• first kidney transplant created demand for kidney transplants and quickly stripped the supply
• the pill was introduced so women had less children
• 1967 abortion act legalised abortion and the baby boom was over ^^ both expensive
• first heart transplant took place but the first patient died due to complications
• CT scans were invented and became standard equipment- also increased cost of NHS

Question 15

What was education like before 1918?

Answer 15

• 1902 Balfour education act- compulsory education up to the age of 12 for boys and girls
  -all secondary education was paid for by families
  1/4 of grammar school places were paid by govt (scholarships)
• boys taught manual skills and girls taught domestic skills

Universities: old universities e.g Oxbridge, expansion of ‘red brick’ universities e.g Birmingham, Manchester, all fee paying, lmited bursaries

Question 16

What were changes in education 1918-39?

Answer 16

• 1918 Fischer Education act- school leaving age was raised to 14, employers were punished for employing children under 14, nursery schools were started, continuation schools were introduced one day a week for children over 14 to teach them more skills, started free health checks of children in schools
  NEGATIVES: 1922 there was a depression so there were cuts, didn’t build nursery schools or continuation schools. No impact on higher education- poor people still couldn’t go to university
• 1926 Hadow Report- recommended primary schools aged 5-11, introduced the tripartite system- grammar, technical schools or modern schools
  POSITIVES: was well received by the public
  NEGATIVES: govt did nothing about it- didn’t consider education a priority

1921- 91.7% of 5-10 year olds in education, 1938- 92.4%: not much change
1921- 65.8% of 11-14 year olds in education, 1938- 74.5%

Question 17

What were changes in education 1939-51?

Answer 17

• 1944 Butler Education act- school leaving age raised to 15, secondary education became free and universal, Ministry of Education set up, tripartite system set up, 11+ exam for grammar schools, 70% of students by 1960 went to a secondary modern where they did CSEs, top 20% went to grammar schools where they did GCEs, O levels and A levels

NEGATIVES: technical schools weren’t often built, by 1965 only 5% of students went, no equality between schools- grammar schools got best funding and better teachers, secondary modern schools had a lack of aspiration- poor teaching and gender differences

Question 18

What were changes in education 1960-79?

Answer 18

• 1959 Crowther report- recommended the govt to raise school leaving age to 15, recommended county colleges and sixth form for many courses
• 1963 Newsom report- wanted better provision for education of deprived children and better teachers for secondary modern schools

- 1965 Crosland circular- Anthony Crosland called for universal comprehensive education with the 10/65 Crosland circular, middle class parents who feared their children wouldn't pass the 11+ supported comprehensive education, in 1970 only 33% of students were educated at comprehensive schools, 1974- 62%, 1979- 90%
POSITIVES: people who didn't get into grammar schools had a better education
NEGATIVES: grammar schools declined- only 150 left by 1979, people saw them as important for bright studies

• 1967 Plowden report- more project-based work rather than teacher-led activities, there was a focus on learning through play and teaching of punctuation and grammar was seen as hindering creativity

Question 19

How did University education change between 1918-45?

Answer 19

1918-39: Universities were fee-paying and only for the elite, mainly red brick and Oxbridge

1944 Education act: grammar schools were free to access, new group of A level students wanting to get into University

Question 20

What was the impact of the 1963 Robbins report and what did it recommend?

Answer 20

• higher education was wanted in the 1960s after the baby boom in 1945
• the report recommended that a universal grant be provided to all students with a university place and recommended a large increase in state funding for universities

impact: between 1962 and 1970, number of universities increased from 22 to 46
- Council for National Academic awards set up, allowed non-university institutions to award degrees
- 1969 Open University launched- aimed at adults
- 1980- 5x more undergraduates at university
- 1920- 4,357 degrees awarded, 1980- 68,150 awarded
- profile of working class in Britain raised- books, films, TV programmes about the w.c
NEGATIVES: there were still the elite e.g Eton and Harrow that went to top universities and dominated education