1. To what extent did the Liberal Reforms create a Welfare State? (24 Marks) By Jim Pang & Oliver Lycos Corbett

2. Introduction Between 1906 and 1914, the liberal government introduced a series of social reforms to address the problem of poverty in Britain. The Liberal reforms offered to resolve the conservatives problems as the liberals used them to win the 1906 election. The reforms provided the foundations for a welfare state, but they were not the start of one.

3. Liberal Reforms and Their Effects 1906 Education Act- allowed local authorities to provide free school meals for needy children, however this was permissive as it was not compulsory. 1907 Education Act- compulsory medical inspections for school children, however this was only a brief check and the poor were not always able to afford to treat conditions revealed by the inspection. 1908 Children Act- made parental neglect illegal and set up juvenile courts. 1908 Old Age Pensions Act- a weekly allowance to those over 70, however many elderly people in those days didn’t even live to 70, and the amount given was of a bare minimum for survival. 1909 Trade boards- set up to fix minimum wages and inspect working conditions. However there was no national minimum wage until 1999 and there were too few inspectors to enforce this rigorously. 1909 Labour exchanges- set up places where job seekers and employers could meet. However it was estimated that for every worker who found a job three did not. 1911 National Insurance Act- workers and employers in certain trades contributed weekly to a national insurance fund, which allowed contributing workers to receive a weekly benefit if unemployed. However this only applied to certain trades- the ‘insured trades’, these were trades known for regular unemployment such as the Building and Shipbuilding trades. 1911 National insurance (sickness) Act- paid out a weekly sickness benefit for sick workers who couldn’t work. However this usually only covered the father and not his family, also this only covered those earning under £160 pa.

4. This meant that major areas were left untouched: E.g. Housing was left untouched after the 1909 town planning act was left ‘permissive’, after fighting the entrenched interests of wealthy landlords proved too much. Another neglected area was education as after the 1906 Education bill was destroyed by the Lords, the cause was given up. There were also other causes of poverty identified in the Booth and Roundtree reports that were left untouched: E.g. Despite the provision of some compulsory insurance, the plight of those in casual employment, particularly those in the docks, remained dire. Also, those with large families had no specific aid.

5. Principles of a welfare state A welfare state is a government that provides for the welfare, or the well-being, of its citizens completely. It is a government which is involved in citizens’ lives at every level. The purpose of the welfare state is to create economic equality or to assure equitable standards of living for all. However, the Liberals only seem to scratch the surface with their reforms.

6. Argument For Reforms were revolutionary – nothing like it had been previously put into place. Welfare state–noun, ‘a state in which the welfare of the people in such matters as social security, health and education, housing, and working conditions is the responsibility of the government.’ Reforms covered the areas of unemployment, education, healthcare and pensions. A move away from the laissez-faire attitude of the Gladstonian Liberals

7. Continued… The beginning, so changes were not intended to be drastic. -Limit to how much they could help with their funds -Aimed at alleviating the worst social problems encountered by the poor Redistribution of wealth/ fairer society. Influenced by the humanitarian reports e.g. the Rowntree report.

8. The effectiveness of the Reforms 1906 & 1907 – Education Act – meals and medical inspections. First time that assistance was publicly financed with the absence of the Poor Law Recognised it was poverty that caused malnutrition, not parents’ fault. By 1914 ¾ LEAs provided free med. Inspections and 2/3 free treatment. By 1914 14 million free meals a year were provided by LEAs.

9. Continued… 1908 Pensions Act – pensions paid to elderly poor who were aged 70+ Not paid through Poor Law. 1 million pensioners by 1915. Paid for by taxation. 1909 - Labour Exchanges – places for those to find work Helped the unemployed by streamlining job seeking process.

10. Unemployment 1911 National Insurance Act (unemployment) Covered 2.25mill, 7s a week for 15 weeks. Help avoid destitution for poor families. 1911 National Insurance Act (illness) Covered 13 mill, 10s a week for 13 weeks, 5s a week for a further 13 weeks. Free medical treatment, maternity grant Recognised that poverty was caused by illness, not fecklessness.

11. Argument Against They created the foundations for a welfare state. Never said they were creating a welfare state Many were optional: the Liberals were permissive and did not compel people to comply. Many reforms only affected a small minority – there were many limitations to ensure only the neediest received them.

12. Continued… Liberals had not the welfare of its people in mind, but to optimise performance of country – foreign competition. Reforms were designed to maintain hold on political power – stave off Labour. Amount of money given was a supplement – too small to be a source of sustenance.

13. Ineffectiveness of Reforms Education & Health Provision of school meals was optional and not forced on schools e.g. 1913, only half used this power. The poor could not always afford treatment. Checks were cursory.

14. Continued… Pensions Only paid to those over 70 – many did not live to this old age, especially the poor. Pension on a sliding scale – only poorest got full amount (means tested) Had to have ‘good character’. Bare minimum for survival.

15. Continued… Unemployment NIC had to be partially paid for by worker. Only covered certain trades. Labour Exchanges did not create more jobs, just made finding them easier. Covered only the worker – family exempt. Lack of minimum wage meant exploitation still present.

16. Conclusion To conclude, the Liberal reforms only provided the basis of a welfare state, as the principle of state assistance was present, but the level at which this was provided meant that they only posed a marginal benefit. The Liberals never intended on creating a welfare state, but only providing a supplement to those extremely poor in order to alleviate problems caused by poverty. The reforms had too many limits to be considered widely effective, but they did cause a change in the perspectives of those in government – the responsibility of those in power to provide help to the public.

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