In 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed this again changed the legislation. A more severe attitude was taken especially with the able-bodied poor. The new Poor Law made it impossible for the able-bodied poor to get any sort of outdoor relief. Indoor relief was provided in the shape of workhouses, but conditions inside the workhouse were made to be undesirable for example, families were separated, to make it as unappealing as possible. The legislation also introduced ‘less eligibility’; this labelled the able-bodied poor less than the lowest paid worker. It was believed that this would encourage the poor to work in the belief that they would be better off in employment. The attitude towards the poor was still very negative and many poor found the system very demeaning as means testing was used. The legislation had slightly relieved the problem of poverty but did not prevent it.
During the years that followed, many new policies were introduced but poverty was increasingly becoming more of a public matter. In the 1800s, surveys were carried out by Charles Booth and Seebohmn Rowntree, the surveys looked into poverty and the effect that it had on people. Again, poverty was brought to the attention of the public, especially the Liberal party. When the Liberal party was voted into government in 1905, numerous changes were made to policies regarding poverty.
The Liberal Reforms started in 1906 and new social policies provided free school meals and medical examinations for children that needed them. The attitude towards the poor was slowly changing, more help was offered for those in need. The liberals were responsible for the introduction of non-contributory pensions and the National Insurance Act, which provided healthcare and unemployment insurance for workers. They also provided labour exchanges, making it easier for those in search of a job to find employment. Primary education was made compulsory, as were contributions. Poverty was becoming more of a shared problem. Although the reforms were not universal and each area of reform was dealt with separately, the system worked well until after the war but after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the system started to fail. This was because of the huge rise in unemployment; national insurance figures fell, as contributions could not be made.
In 1941, William Beveridge was employed by the government to review welfare provision. He published his report in 1942 and claimed that the social problems of poverty, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness were contributing to the fact that the poor stayed poor. Beveridge believed that if all five factors were alleviated, poverty would no longer be a problem in Britain. His policies became known as the Five Giants, Want, ill health, lack of education, poor housing and unemployment, he believed that poverty was not the fault of the individual but the society that they lived in. Beveridge’s Report wanted a full range of welfare provision ‘brought into one coherent framework’.
He still planned to use the national insurance system but planned to have national assistance to subsidise those who did not qualify because of inadequate contributions. Ill health would be eradicated by a free universal healthcare system. He stated that benefits should be paid at subsistence level and that allowances should be introduced to boost the deteriorating birth rate. Employment levels would be controlled by the nationalisation of public industries and full employment would be achieved, so reducing the national assistance required.
After the election of the Labour party in 1945, various legislations were put into action to tackle Beveridge’s Five Giants. National Insurance and Assistance, and the Family Allowance Act were introduced to alleviate want, the National Health Service was provided on clinical need as opposed to social standing or employment status. Lack of education would be phased out by free and compulsory education under the Education Act, leading to equality of opportunity. Poor housing was overcome by the Town and Country Planning Act, which required local authorities to provide adequate housing for their local population.
Although Beveridge’s report had wonderful aims and changed peoples perceptions about poverty, his policies were too idealistic. They were all based on full employment and this was impossible to achieve, this would later be changed to high and stable unemployment, he also made the mistake of not considering inflation when introducing his policies.
There are many similarities between the Beveridge Report and previous legislation. The Elizabethan Poor Law first used local taxes to fund those in poverty in the form of outdoor relief, the Poor Law also tried to provide a uniformed system as did the 1834 Amendment Act, which also provided allowances for the sick, infirm and disabled. Both the Amendment Act and Beveridge Report were nationally organised and both used means testing as did the reforms of the Liberal government. The Liberal government also provided provision based on compulsory contributions. The attitudes towards poverty were also similar between the Liberals and Beveridge, poverty was seen as the fault of society, not the individual.
Although Beveridge lay down the foundation of the welfare state, state provision was being made long before his report in 1942. Beveridge’s policies were said to be ‘evolutionary and not revolutionary’ and I believe that this is because his ideas were based on previous legislations, which he simply brought up to date. It is proven by the number of similarities between Beveridge’s policies and the policies that had been in use previously.
