1906 The Trades disputes Act reversed the Taff Vale decision. So workers were immune from having to pay compensation for damages caused by a strike. Strike action increased living conditions in the major trades as they were able to use this law to their advantage by striking for better conditions which employers would have to respect if work was to continue. The limitations of this act however were that it only was successful in improving conditions in key industries like rail, coal and shipping. This is because these key industries could collectively halt production in the country. Other industries were not as valued so could not improve their living conditions as they were not recognised as having trade union rights.
1907 The Education Act extended to provide medical inspections of all elementary school children. This Act help living conditions of children as disease and hygiene problems would be noticed and treated (in some cases) which meant that they were healthier than they previously were thus increasing health levels. At its height ¾ of local authorities were providing medical treatment by 1914. The limitations of this act is that it was not compulsory so even if checks were made which they often were not, the treatment was not provided by the state and once they left school no after care was provided so adults were exempt and suffered from bad health problems.
1908 The Old Age Pensions Act introduced a non-contributory scheme, providing 25p a week as a right to those over 70 years of age (37.5p to married couples) as long as income did not exceed £31 a year. The full sum was only for those not earning more than £21 a year. This Act was revolutionary as no other UK government had taken steps towards a radical social reform policy before which made it extremely progressive however it did have drawbacks. The drawbacks of this scheme were that it took long to implement so poverty among the old was still a concerning issue not yet properly tackled, it was not generous or universal, numerous of people left outside the scheme such as ex convicts and those out of work for a long period of time so in a collective sense it raised the poverty line very little. A major disadvantage to the scheme was that the average life expectancy was 65 and you had to be 70 to receive a pension so in the long run not many benefited in the end from the scheme. The ones that did live to receive it were better off than before but not to a great extent as the sum provided barely covered the bare minimum survival necessities.
1909 Trade Boards provided some protection for exploited workers in sweated trades such as tailoring box making,. The act enabled Trade inspections to report employers (who could be fined) who ignored the rulings. This Act set minimum payments for workers who were in industries vulnerable of exploitation and where no help could be offered from trade unions. This act was a success for the industries involved as it meant in some cases higher wages, less exploitation for workers in these trades, the restriction however were that not all industries were covered which meant living standards didn’t improve for those people.
1911 Part 1 of the National Insurance Act was concerned with health insurance and provided a payment of 50p a week for a person off work because of illness. This lasted for 26 weeks, after which a disablement payment of 25p a week was made. Treatment and medicines would be given free to the insured person but not his family. This was provided for all workers earning up to £160 a year, the state would provide 2d, the employer 3d and the employee 4d. This part of the act was extremely successful in combating poverty and improving living conditions as money was still received by the worker while he was ill ensuring that matters weren’t made worse by deprivation. The family of the worker also benefited from a steady flow of income. The drawbacks were that the money given still wasn’t enough to cover the basic needs of food and water for some families and hospital treatment was not covered which could have in effect speeded up recovery. As like the act before if the worker died the families were not entitled to anything which hindered its success. Another Factor which hindered the success of this legislation was the fact that it was self contributory, so could make poorer and lower living conditions of those people who were in industries were risk off illness were minimal.
Part 2 of the National Insurance Act helped about 2.5 million men in industries where the risk of unemployment was highest e.g. ship building, construction and engineering. An unemployed person received 35p a week for a maximum of 15 weeks, as long as they had paid enough into the scheme before hand. The success of this legislation came from the fact that employees of hostile fluctuation employment industries still had an income should they find themselves out of work so that they were not immediately poor and had sufficient time to look for employment. However the payments were quite low and were seen as more of a life belt for people to add to their possible savings. Another drawback of this Act was that not all industries were covered so shop assistants whose industries suffer according to inflation, who may find themselves out of work were not supported, the workers were only covered for a period of 15 weeks which meant that once that time had run out the person was left with no income with which to feed himself or possible family.
The above shows that the Liberal government implemented a range of social legislation which in effect provided for some the basic minimum. Although legislation was passed from 1906, it was in many cases properly enforced up to a year later (excluding the National Insurance act and Old age pensions) this meant that living conditions were not improved to much during the first few years of the Liberal ministry so poverty stilled marred legislation’s success. Even though the ill, unemployed, children, workers and elderly were provided for via social reform, their were still drawbacks as the legislation was not widely available to the people as many factions of society were excluded like convicts. Compared to other countries like Germany, the UK fell well behind of what was needed but did make steps in the right direction.
The reforms covered sub issues to eradicate poverty and improve living conditions, but the main causes were not specifically addressed like the short supply of housing, exclusion of families within legislation and the dreaded poor laws, unreformed workhouses.
In conclusion, the success of Liberal state intervention in improving living conditions between 1906-1915 can be argued on three different levels. The range of legislation instated improved living conditions for those it included by thwarting more poverty so it can be seen as a success as it lowered poverty levels however it failed to eradicate the causes of poverty which ever evident in society and constantly was a factor in reducing living conditions. Another factor that can make the legislation introduced limited in terms of success is the fact that the people collectively were not covered such as convicts or the insane which meant that their poor living conditions remained.
On the other hand the Liberal legislation can be seen as a success as it provided what no other government in the UK had done and under the circumstances of tough opposition and growing poverty the liberal government managed to lower the levels and minimise to an extent, those living below the poverty line.
The legislation introduced was implemented to ‘improve living conditions of the poor’, this aim was fulfilled portraying it to be a success. The impact of the reforms were that it helped the poorest neglected sector of society improve their living conditions and quality of life via a range of legislation which was focussed on providing the bare minimum of a safety net.
These reforms produced the skeleton of the improvements to come and principles had now been ingrained like that of state intervention in order to counteract the social evils of the time preparing the foundations for the welfare state. Minimum standards were now set and the social legislation had provided fencing to the poorest of society to stop them falling into the precipice which was previously unheard of.
