The National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act made injuries sustained in the work place a public matter and set up an insurance scheme, where the worker, employer and the state paid money weekly, providing insurance against injury. The National Insurance Act provided, as suggested by Beveridge, a range of benefits to cover the person from birth until death. The National Assistance Act provided further cover for those who were disabled, old aged, sick or of any other special needs, acting as a "safety net." The problem with this, however, was that benefits were not set high enough and so National Assistance boards were flooded with applications for extra benefit, creating great strain on the available funds.
To deal with the problem of "disease" Labour provided the National Health Service. This was completely thought up by them and was very successful. It provided free medical assistance of any kind, including eye care, dental care, hearing facilities, specialists and general practitioners. It is arguably "the greatest single achievement in the story of the Welfare State."
"Ignorance" was dealt with through the introduction of Acts such as the Education Act. Although it was inherited from the coalition government, it was the Labour Party who put it in to effect. They also increased the education of children by rebuilding schools which had been bombed by the Germans during the War. This was to incredible effect, however, there were problems in that very few Grammar and Technical schools were built, resulting in 75% of children having to go to inferior schools.
"Squalor" was partially dealt with through the building of one million houses for the people who lived in slums or had been bombed. It was not the five million which Labour had promised, but it was a start and a major achievement. It also helped to deal with "Idleness" as it provided jobs for the unemployed. This helped the Labour Party to reduce the number of unemployed and achieve full employment (2.5% unemployed.) This was the first time it was ever achieved in Britain and so was a brilliant target to have met.
Although Labour completed the establishment of a Welfare State, it was the Liberals of 1906-14 who started off the movement. They were known as "the founding fathers of the Welfare State." They can also be assessed on how well they dealt with the "Five Giants." In doing this they created a number of reforms specifically for dealing with the problems of poverty. Firstly, to deal with the problem of "Want," School Meals were introduced. This prevented children from being so hungry, yet also it improved their health as they were definitely getting at least one good meal a day. Also to deal with "Want" the Liberals introduced Old Age Pensions in 1908. This provided money for those over 70 on a weekly basis and was a very advanced idea for the time. It did, however, have its faults, mainly that it had too many conditions.
In dealing with "Disease" they created the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act of 1907, which provided health inspections in schools. Although this increased awareness of conditions it did not provide treatment for the children. Also introduced was the Health Insurance Act of 1911, workers and employers contributed weekly and in return received sick pay and free medical pay. "Idleness" was dealt with very effectively through the creation of the "National Insurance Act," where by insurance was provided against unemployment. This, however, was only in certain trades. Labour Exchanges were more successful in dealing with unemployment. They set up 3,000 people with jobs a day. The Liberals did not really deal with "Squalor," but they did partially deal with "Ignorance." They did this through the Children's Charter, 1908. This defined childhood and made parents take responsibility for them.
As well as the Liberals, 1906-14 and Labour, 1945-51, were other contributions to the creation of a Welfare State. These came from the coalition government of the Second World War, Wartime Socialism and Changing Social Attitudes. The coalition government provided some Acts to deal with improving conditions for the public. They provided Immunisation from 1941 on and death from Diphtheria in children dropped from 3,000 to 818 in 1945. They also provided State Nurseries and milk for children in schools. As well as this they created the Old Age and Widow's Pension Act in 1940. This provided benefits for three quarters of a million old people in need.
Wartime Socialism helped in the creation of a Welfare State as it changed people's attitudes a lot. Where as before the war people had an attitude of "Laissez-Faire," afterwards people had changed more to a Socialist point of view. This was due to rationing during the war and the fact that everybody was bombed as much as everybody else, whatever their class was. As a result nearly everyone was more accepting to the ideas of sharing and looking after each other.
Overall, it is apparent that the Labour Government of 1945-51 does deserve the description of "Creators of the Welfare State." Although the Liberals of 1906-14 did start off the movement and made a number of changes to the Britain of their time, it was still far from being complete by the end of their term in parliament. They also left some of the "Five Giants" completely untouched and so were not as effective as the Labour Parliament. The other contributing factors, such as Wartime Socialism, although major factors, cannot claim the title alone, as individually they did not create as large an effect as the Labour Party. It alone greatly affected and managed to complete the Welfare State.
