4.3.2

The Welfare State

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Social Changes After World War One

War highlighted the inequality in the postwar world, leading to many later reforms.

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War highlighted inequality

  • When children were evacuated to the countryside, more people realised the differences in living standards between people in different areas.
    • Some evacuated children were in a very unhealthy state.
  • The need to raise large armies made the government aware of the problems created for society by an unhealthy workforce.
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Reforms to reward soldiers after WW1

  • The government realised the importance of having a healthy population. David Lloyd George wanted to have ‘homes fit for heroes’.
  • After the First World War, overcrowded housing was banned.
  • In 1918, it became compulsory for local councils to provide health visits and support for pregnant women.
  • In 1919, councils started to build housing for poor families.
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Ministry of Health

  • In 1919, a Ministry for Health was set up.
    • This looked after sanitation, healthcare and the training of doctors and nurses.
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Later reforms

  • In 1934, the Free School Milk Act meant children could have free milk in schools. This was critical as Britain was hit by the Great Depression.
  • Evacuated children in the Second World War triggered outrage as people saw how unhealthy they were.
  • Almost 1 million homes were built by the Labour government between 1945 and 1952. The New Towns Act of 1946 created whole new towns (like Milton Keynes and Telford) close to large cities.

The Beveridge Report and the Welfare State

In 1942, Sir William Beveridge (a Liberal politician) wrote a report about the state (government) called the Beveridge Report. It was very popular and sold over 100,000 copies within a month.

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The Beveridge Report

  • The report claimed that everyone had a right to be free of the ‘five giants’: disease, want, ignorance, idleness and squalor.
  • It highlighted that people’s quality of life needed to improve and suggested that the government should be responsible for this.
  • The report suggested that welfare should be available to everyone in need. It should be paid for by tax payers, non-means tested (available to everyone) and compulsory for everyone.
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The Welfare State

  • The government’s involvement in improving public health and social security is called the welfare state.
  • The welfare state was implemented by the Labour Party led by Clement Attlee in 1945.
  • The welfare state included a health service that was “free at the point of delivery”, a weekly allowance for families to look after their children and a ‘benefits’ system to give financial help to the very poor.
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Later reforms and reports

  • In 1946, the New Towns Act was set up to plan new towns.
  • In 1956, the Clean Air Act established smokeless zones in cities.
  • In 1980, the Black Report said that there were still inequalities in health between the rich and poor.

Jump to other topics

1Medicine Stands Still

1.1Ancient Egyptian Approaches to Medicine

1.1.1Ancient Egyptian Medicine

1.2Ancient Greek Medicine

1.2.1Hippocrates

1.2.2Galen & Ancient Rome

1.2.3End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.3Medieval Medicine

1.3.1The Fall of Rome

1.3.2The Medieval 'Doctor'

1.4Religion & Medicine

1.4.1Christianity & Medicine

1.4.2Islam & Medicine

1.4.3Medieval Surgery

1.5Public Health in the Middle Ages

1.5.1Towns & Monasteries

1.5.2The Black Death

1.5.3End of Topic Test - Medieval Medicine

1.5.4Grade 9 Medieval Medicine

2The Beginnings of Change

2.1The Impact of the Renaissance on Britain

2.1.1The Renaissance & Vesalius

2.1.2Paré & Harvey

2.1.3Institutions & Technology in the Renaissance

2.2Treating Illnesses in the Renaissance

2.2.1The Great Plague

2.2.2Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.3End of Topic Test - The Beginnings of Change

2.2.4Grade 9 - The Beginnings of Change

2.2.5Exam-Style Questions - Source Utility

2.3Prevention of Disease

2.3.1Vaccination & the Spread of Disease

2.3.2Was There Progress in Renaissance Medicine?

2.3.3Exam-Style Questions - Societal Attitudes

3A Revolution in Medicine

3.1The Development of Germ Theory & its Impact

3.1.1Germ Theory, Pasteur & Koch

3.1.2Magic Bullets & the Impact of Germ Theory

3.2A Revolution in Surgery

3.2.1Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.3Improvements in Public Health

3.3.1Public Health & Cholera

3.3.2C19 Improvements in Public Health

3.3.3End of Topic Test - Revolution in Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - Revolution in Medicine

4Modern Medicine

4.1Modern Treatment of Disease

4.1.1WW1, Pharmaceuticals & Penicillin

4.1.2Exam-Style Questions - Penicillin

4.1.3The Impact of War on Medicine

4.2New Diseases & Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.120th Century Diseases & Treatments

4.2.2Alternative Treatments & Transplants

4.3Modern Public Health

4.3.1Booth, Rowntree & the Liberals

4.3.2The Welfare State

4.3.3The NHS

4.3.4End of Topic Test - New Diseases & Treatments

4.3.5Grade 9 - Modern Medicine

5Themes in Public Health

5.1Themes in Public Health over the Period

5.1.1War

5.1.2Exam-Style Questions - War

5.1.3Religion & Superstition

5.1.4Chance

5.1.5Government

5.1.6Communication

5.1.7Science & Technology

5.1.8Role of Individuals

5.1.9End of Topic Test - Themes in Public Health

5.1.10Grade 9 - Themes in Public Health

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Booth, Rowntree & the Liberals

The NHS