Chapter 11 Welfare

Poverty: Mind or Matter?  What is mind?  It doesn’t matter.  What is (the) matter?  Never mind.

Poverty: matter or mind?  The state of being without  Associated with need, hardship, lack of resources  To be denied adequate resources to participate meaningfully in society  A state in which a family’s income is too low to be able to buy the quantities of food, shelter, and clothing that are deemed necessary

Absolute poverty  When a human being fails to receive the minimum amount of resources to physically sustain themselves, ie, food, water  The state of being without  Associated with need, hardship, lack of resources  A state in which a family’s income is too low to be able to buy the quantities of food, shelter, and clothing that are deemed necessary

Relative poverty  Defined by the general living standards— relative to how wealthy your society is  To be denied adequate resources to participate meaningfully in society

The government measures poverty by  Using a “composite index”.  A list of around 40 indicators of poverty  Eg. Annual income, educational achievement of an individual, employment status, health and diet

Distribution of real1 household disposable income £ per week 90th percentile Figure 5.14 Distribution of real 1 household disposable income 2 United Kingdom £ per week 90th percentile 75th percentile Median 25th percentile 10th percentile

The government tackles poverty by  Collecting tax from the population  National insurance  Distributing the collected money fairly to…  The needy:  The unemployed, the sick, the young, the elderly, the disabled

Ways of distributing the money  Funding the essential public services, eg. NHS  Giving out benefits on a regular basis to those who are eligible

The Welfare State: a History  1601—Poor Law Act, first government interest in public welfare  1834—Poor Law Amendment Act: only for those too sick or too old to work, otherwise in workhouses (Oliver Twist, 1837)  —Public Health Acts: local health authorities  1870—Public Health Act: interest in primary education

The Welfare State: a History  1880—Public libraries, swimming pools, parks, local government charities, self help  1944—Butler Education Act, education free and compulsory  1945—Family Allowances Act  1946—National Insurance Act  1947—National Health Service (NHS: P183, PP186-7)

The Welfare State: a History  1960s + 70s—More selective about benefits  1979—Thatcher (P184)  1979—Conservative government (P189)  Increased means testing  Benefit cuts  Privatisation  Competition between local services  Caring in the community  Encouragement of pluralism

The Beveridge Report  1942—Sir William Beveridge  Analysis of the state of poverty and welfare  Government interest in social welfare affairs

The Beveridge Report  5 things/evils  Want  Disease  Ignorance  Squalor  Idleness  Aim: a poverty-free society

The Welfare State has erradicated all poverty in the UK. Do you agree?

The Welfare State: Why the Need?  Pensions, health care, education  Should people struggle to get adequate housing?  Should old age equal poverty?  Should everyone be entitled to a standard of living at subsistence level?  Should people be able to cease pain and not go bankrupt by long term of illness?

The Welfare State: Why the Need?  Should everyone be prepared by life by having at least the secondary education?  Should tertiary education be within reach for everybody or should people struggle to get that opportunity?  Should basic rights like health care be provided independent of socioeconomic status?

Can the market handle it?  Is there universal access to any good or service?  Ability & willingness to pay  Perfect information—easily accessible and comprehensible: consumers and suppliers must be well informed of the nature of the product and prices  Perfect competition—product, capital market  Individuals—price-takers with equal power  Complete markets—do markets ensure us against inflation?  Redistribution—necessary

Problems  Bureaucracy—cost & efficiency  In theory vs. in practice  Unfair distribution—the rich taking advantage of the system and milking the government for money

Chapter 11 Welfare  What do you understand by the term ‘welfare state’, as proposed by the Beveridge Report of 1942? (PP182-3)  Why do you think there have been some changes in government’s attitudes towards the traditional Universal Welfare Provision? (P184)  What are the main benefits and pensions available in the UK system of social security? (PP184-6)  What are the basic principles of the National Health Service? How are its costs met? (P186)  What is the pattern of house ownership in Britain today? Who is responsible for the provision of housing benefits? (PP )

WELFARE IN BRITAIN — THE PRESENT  The three main areas of welfare provision: health, housing and social security  The post-war welfare structure: a combination of public and private provision  From the 1980s: encouragement of provision for one’s own health and retirement by paying into private insurance schemes

Housing  1950s and 1960s — Post War slum clearance  The 1980s: Sale of Council Houses  Many people disagreed with this policy  Local Council Responsibilities  To provide adequate housing and meet special housing needs in its area, usually through the local Social Services Department

Housing  Private Sector Housing  Housing Benefits  Help with housing costs: part of the provision of the Welfare State, either for people on low incomes or for people unexpectedly or temporarily out of work through illness or unemployment (administered by local government)

Housing  The 1961 three- bedroomed semi-detached house: typical of those now standing on the Clober estate

Semi-detached Houses

Detached House

Council Houses

Flats  London Flat  1930s  Lawn Road Flats 

Workhouses  Workhouse, Winchester  Workhouse, Andover

The Poor Law in 1834  OLIVER TWIST  Charles Dickens

Dickens Centre, Rochester  Summer House

Portsmouth Museum  House he bought at his home town  Library

Housing Crisis in Britain  Negative equity—house price falls  People are losing more money on their home than they're earning everyday at work.  The Telegraph  Credit crunch—less lending, tighter mortgage lending environment

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