1. Session 1: The History of the Welfare State Learning objectives: Be able to outline the historical development of the welfare state Be able to relate the development of the welfare state to the post- Second World War consensus Key Terms: Consensus, Welfare state, Welfare system, Welfare, Absolute poverty, Relative poverty Starter: Governments have to make difficult decisions when deciding how to allocate public money. Rank the below groups in order of priority with 1 being the group that you think should receive the most help and 5 receiving the least. Be prepared to justify your answers. Elderly retired widow Single mother staying at home Single mother going to work Disabled man Unemployed 18 year old

2. Homework – Really important! 1)Read all 4 pages of the handout. 2)Complete both task boxes Due next lesson * Don’t forget to keep revising everything for the mock exams in December *

3. Feedback your answers as a class… Do you all agree? Could you reach a consensus? (Agreement) Should we prioritise young or old? Should we prioritise mothers who want to work to provide for their children or those who want to stay at home to raise their children? Where were disabled people on your list? Consensus = political consensus means that all of the different political parties are in agreement with each other about something e.g: “There is political consensus between the Conservatives and Labour party on whether to have free education.”

4. Welfare state = a country where the government has taken steps to protect the health and wellbeing of those in financial need – “Britain is now a welfare state.” Welfare system = the system that a government has brought in to protect the health and wellbeing of those in financial need – “The welfare system in Britain has been criticised for being unfair.” Welfare = the help that those in financial need receive e.g. benefits, tax credits etc. – “Single mothers now receive welfare.” Key terms The next few slides will tell the story of the history of the development of the welfare system in Britain. Take notes of key terms, facts and dates

5. INTRODUCTION State welfare and benefits have considerably changed in the last one hundred years in developed countries, such as Britain, in an effort to reduce the number of people who fall into the category of being ‘poor’.

6. One individual who was extremely influential in defining poverty was Seebohm Rowntree who devised research at the beginning of the twentieth century to define whether people were in poverty or not.

7. He defined people as belonging to a category: or below the poverty line (in poverty) above the poverty line (out of poverty)

8. He argued that people needed: Food Clothes Shelter These were the minimum for existence. The poverty line was drawn at the point where a minimum was needed to ‘maintain health’.

9. There are two types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty.

10. Absolute poverty means that a person does not have what they need to survive physically, for example, they do not have food, drink, clothing or shelter.

11. Relative poverty means that the individual is measured against the standard of living of the rest of the society in which he/she lives.

12. The difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty is the difference between: Absolute poverty: An individual’s biological needs: FoodFood WaterWater ClothingClothing ShelterShelter Defining poverty

13. The difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty is the difference between: Relative poverty: An individual’s needs according to a generally accepted standard of the society in which the individual is living at that specific time.

14. Although the first attempts at creating a welfare system started in the early 1900s, events such as the First World War and the following ‘Depression’ of the 1930’s when unemployment was so high, led eventually to a review of the state provision for the unemployed and sick. The most significant changes to the welfare system took place after World War 2. All political parties reached a consensus that they should pull together to help each other and rebuild the country.

15. In other words, serious reviews needed to be undertaken after the Second World War in the areas of: Unemployment Housing Poverty Health and Education

16. 1900 2012 1906 Free school meals 1909 Pensions WW1 1914 1939 WW2 Free education 1944 1945 Benefit system for elderly, widows & orphans School leaving age raised to 15 1947 1948 National Health Service & National Insurance (pay when working so get money when not working) Important Anti Discrimination Laws Equal Pay Act 1970 (men & women) Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (equal chance of job & promotion etc – included sexuality as well as sex) Race Relations Act 1976 (no discrimination by race) Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – cannot discriminate by disability & must make steps to make work accessible etc

17. Review of learning Task Write a paragraph to explain each of the learning objectives above Learning objectives: Be able to outline the historical development of the welfare state Be able to relate the development of the welfare state to the post-Second World War consensus

18. Session 2: Recent Policies Learning objectives: Be able to outline recent policies relating to poverty and the ageing population and explain the thinking behind them Key terms: Means- tested Task: There are 3 handouts relating to government policies for different groups in society. 1)Read each handout 2)Summarise the government policies 3)Note any facts, key terms, statistics etc

19. Unemployed Government imposed “New Deal” Work experience encouraged for young people, unemployed and lone parents Threat of benefits being reduced if people do not look for work Subsidised (cheaper) childcare to encourage families too get back to work Basic literacy and numeracy programmes Minimum wage introduced 1950s – full employment1980s – lots of unemployment 1990s – better employment NOW – lots of unemployment

20. Ageing Population The elderly make a vital contribution to family and community life BUT they are also expensive in terms of healthcare, pensions, social care etc. They are also the age group most likely to vote in the General elections so governments want to keep them happy! Government encourages personal pensions and encourages companies to set up pensions for their employees Age discrimination laws have come into place to allow older people to carry on working into later life Means-tested pension credits, heating allowances etc for the poorest pensioners Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the value of property and houses etc. 2006/7 = 2.5 million pensioners living in poverty

21. Children Free education for every child Means-tested free school dinners, help with cost of trips, uniform etc Every parent entitled to child benefit Government grant of £1000 in a savings account for every newborn baby – can access at 18 Child Support Agency (CSA) set up to chase absent fathers for child support payment Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the value of property and houses etc. 2006/7 = 2.9 million children living in poverty

22. Review of Learning Learning objectives: Be able to outline recent policies relating to poverty and the ageing population and explain the thinking behind them Task Write a paragraph to explain the learning objectives above

23. Session 3: Consensus? Learning objectives: Be able to analyse whether the welfare system strengthens or weakens society Key terms: Socialist, Neo-liberalism, Consensus, New Labour, Old Labour, Privatisation The welfare system was designed to help those people in need. Can you think of any criticisms of the welfare system?

24. There was political consensus between most political parties after World War 2. They agreed that they needed to work together to rebuild society and help those in need, which led to the development of the welfare system. However, the welfare system started to receive criticism. In 1975, the conservative party, led by Margaret Thatcher adopted neo-liberal principles. They believed that… The welfare state is inefficient as there is no competition to drive up standards. E.g. patients of a hospital can’t choose to “take their custom elsewhere.” The welfare state encourages a “something for nothing” attitude so people are less inclined to work hard and pay for their own family. Neo-Liberalism = a political approach based on the belief that governments should limit their activity to maintaining “law and order” and should not interfere too much.

25. “I’ve got a little list of benefit offenders who I’ll soon be rooting out, And who never would be missed. They never would be missed. There’s those who make up bogus claims in half a dozen names, And Councillors who draw the dole to run left-wing campaigns. They never would be missed. There’s young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue, And dads who won’t support the kids of the ladies they have kissed, And I haven’t even mentioned all those sponging socialists. I’ve got them on my list, and there’s none of them be missed. There’s none of them be missed.” This ditty was sung at the Conservative conference by the minister in charge of security in 1992. 1) Identify 3 ways in which the “scroungers” are said to damage the welfare state. 2) Identify 3 ways in which a genuine claimant may be affected by hearing such a ditty on TV

26. ‘Old Labour’ had a huge influence on the development of the welfare state. Their policies were based on protecting the interests of the working classes and supporting working class values such as solidarity. In 1997, the Labour party rebranded itself to ‘New Labour’ to try to distance itself from its old policies. It appeared that New Labour and the Conservative party had again, reached political consensus. Both parties now believe that: Government bodies or local councils do not provide services as efficiently as private companies Only competition provides a sufficiently powerful incentive to work hard On the basis of these beliefs, much of the organisation of the welfare system has now been reformed. Privatisation of many services e.g. refuse collection, some schools, prisons etc Competitive environments created between services e.g. schools compete for pupils, hospitals compete for patients

27. “Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the welfare state strengthens society.” (12 marks) Arguments for how the welfare system strengthens society –Poverty –Unemployed –Elderly Arguments for how the welfare system weakens society –Living off the state –Unemployment –Undermines family responsibility Conclusion