It had been recognised by Beveridge in his 1942 report that many people were in need of financial aid. He felt that the people of Britain should be given security in times of need. This included when they were unemployed, sick, old, injured at work, pregnant or widowed. He felt that financial support should be given to the vulnerable sectors of society who, through no fault of their own, could not work and therefore were unable to earn money. Consequently, the government introduced the National Insurance Act (1946). This was a comprehensive insurance scheme, which aimed to look after the people of Britain "from the cradle to the grave". The Act involved weekly contributions from employers, employees and the State. In turn, people were granted sickness and unemployment benefit, maternity and widows' benefit, retirement benefit and a death grant. A single adult would receive 26s, and a couple would be given 42s.
The Labour government also inherited the Industrial Injuries Act (1946) from the Coalition government. The Act made it compulsory that workers were insured against injuries obtained in the workplace. Again, the Act was a contributory scheme to which the employees, employers and state contributed. If a worker were injured at work (an industrial injury), they received more benefits than for ordinary sickness.
Labour identified that there were some groups of people who were in need of help but were not covered by the National Insurance Scheme (such as the old, sick and disabled). The government introduced the National Assistance Act (1948) to provide a "safety net" for those groups of people. However, the Act did not deal with the social problems identified by Beveridge to the extent that it could have. Although it acted on Beveridge's plan to eradicate want, there were a number of disadvantages of the National Assistance Act. 156 weekly contributions had to be made before a person was eligible for insurance against sickness, unemployment and other social problems. A large number of civil servants had to be employed to organise the scheme. Furthermore, insurance benefits were decided in 1946 and fixed for 5 years. The "Appointed Day" of the scheme to be put into operation was in 1948. Over the 2 years that it took for the Act to be put into operation, prices had increased, which reduced the buying power of the benefits. In 1948, the benefit was just 19% of the average industrial wage - well below subsistence level. Many old people did not apply for national assistance due to the fact that it was means tested.
It had been identified in the Beveridge Report that inadequate education was a major social problem in 1942. By 1947, the Education Act of 1944 was in operation. Labour had inherited this Act from the coalition government. This Act made secondary education compulsory until the age of 15 and also provided meals, milk and medical services at school.
Secondary education differed in Scotland and England. At the age of 11, children sat an intelligence test (known as the "Quallie"), which determined the type of secondary school they would attend. In England, a tripartite structure was used. The top-scoring 20% of children would attend Grammar School. 75% of children attended a Secondary Modern, which provided a less "academic" education than that offered by Grammar Schools. Those who scored least in the intelligence test would attend Technical School, where they were taught practical skills.
In Scotland there were only two types of secondary schools - Senior Secondary and Junior Secondary. Senior Secondary was academic, whereas Junior Secondary was more vocational. In Higher Education, also, universities and colleges were to expand the number of places available, and state grants were made available for those students who were able to win higher education places.
With regards to education, the Labour government cannot be said to have made a vast improvement to the social problems identified in the Beveridge Report. Little was done to create more equal opportunities for working class children, and the equality of provision in different parts of the country was not greatly reduced. This could have been due to the education background of those responsible for education in the post-war period (Atlee and Dalton). Both were public school educated, hence had little understanding of the state school system. Furthermore, immediately after the war, there was a shortage of school buildings, and buildings that had not been destroyed during the war were in very poor condition. The government did not have the finance available to totally revamp school buildings due to the financial problems caused by the war. Consequently, Atlee (Prime Minister) was forced to focus on replacing schools damaged during the war, as well as building new primary schools to deal with the post-war "baby boom". This meant that only about 250 secondary schools were built by 1950, which was an inadequate number given the changes brought about by the 1944 Act.
"The maintenance of a high and stable level of employment after the war" was an aim of the Labour Administration following the war. Beveridge had, in his report, estimated that an unemployment rate of 3% could not be bettered, however, by 1946 was reduced to 2.5% despite severe post war problems including shortages of raw materials, damage and dislocation due to rationing and war debts. Full employment was called by Labour "the greatest revolution", but Britain had much to thank the USA for. The USA provided Britain with £1263 million to prop up Western Europe, which helped to prevent the deterioration of our capitalist system. Nevertheless, it is thanks to the Labour government that they were able to complete the welfare structure and maintain full employment despite severe economic problems. As a result of Britain's high employment level during this period, her share of the world export trade in manufactured goods increased from 18.6% in 1938 to 25.6% in 1950. This may also have been due to the inability of Germany and Japan to compete, as they were going through post-war reconstruction.
At the beginning of Labour's time in power, Britain was suffering from poor health. Health was dependent on wealth, and the poor could not access health care due to lack of finance. Known as the "greatest single achievement in the story of the Welfare State", the National Health Service was revolutionary for the people of Britain. The NHS Act (1946) provided universal and comprehensive health care to all British citizens. The people of Britain could now receive free medical, dental and optical services. The Appointed Day for the introduction of the NHS was July 1948, however many obstacles had to be overcome. Doctors campaigned vigorously against the NHS as they believed that they would be worse off financially if they lost their private patients. Consequently, Bevan offered them incentives to make them enter the NHS. Consultants were granted the ability to practice privately whilst working for the NHS, and GPs were given 5s for each patient on their list. Furthermore, GPs were financially compensated for the loss of their private practices (£66 million). As a result of these incentives, 90% of doctors had entered the NHS by the Appointed Day. The citizens of Britain celebrated the arrival of the NHS by taking full advantage of the scheme. An example of this is a woman going to the optician's, getting new glasses, then going to the chiropodist for a treatment, then to the doctor's where she was fitted for a new hearing aid, all free of charge.
Inevitably, high costs were incurred due to people taking advantage of the scheme. Contrary to what they had expected, the scheme had to be financed out of general taxation, and charges had to be introduced for dental treatment and spectacles. Due to lack of finance, plans for new hospitals and health services had to be postponed. Nonetheless, the NHS was still seen as the essential core of the welfare state, and was highly effective in dealing with the health problems facing Britain at this time.
Ultimately, between 1945 and 1951, the Labour government dealt with many of he social problems that had been identified in the Beveridge Report of 1942. Many houses were built in an attempt to eradicate the housing problems facing Britain following the War. Financial benefits were granted to the vulnerable sectors of society, such as the old and the unemployed, improving their lives to a certain extent. Primary education was prioritised, and working class citizens were given more education opportunities. The level of employment was greatly improved, and the NHS made health care accessible to everyone, regardless of income. However, the social problems highlighted by Beveridge were not completely eradicated. Many families remained homeless, and secondary education had not yet undergone substantial changes. Furthermore, the National Assistance Act meant that many people were still living below the poverty line. Undoubtedly, the Labour government 1945-1951 dealt with many of the problems facing Britain during this period, but there was still much to be done to drastically improve the lives of the British people.
