The Effectiveness of the Liberal Reforms (1906-1914)

Act / Positive / Negative
Y
O
U
N
G / Schools Meals Act 1906 /
  • By 1914 the government were providing local authorities with grants to cover half the costs
  • 14 million meals were provided per year by 1914
/
  • The act was never made compulsory
  • Regional variations as authorities refused to take up the scheme
  • Local authorities were slow to respond – by 1939 less than 50% had taken up the scheme

Medical Inspections Act 1907 /
  • Increased awareness of common health complaints
  • By 1914 most authorities were providing some sort of follow up care
/
  • Authorities were not compelled to set up clinics
  • Did not address the health problems of adults or school leavers

Childrens’ Charter 1908 /
  • Limited the social evils (alcohol, cigarettes..) children could have access to

E
L
D
E
R
L
Y / Old Age Pensions Act 1908 /
  • No insurance contributions were required – pensions were given as a right
  • 1906-1914 there was a 75% decrease in old people entering the poor house
  • By 1914 nearly 1 million people were applying for the pension
/
  • Pension level was set 2 shillings below the “poverty line”
  • Many people did not reach the age of seventy to benefit from the system
  • The exemptions were very moralistic (prison, drinking..)

Act / Positive / Negative
£ / People’s Budget 1909 /
  • Established the principle of redistributive tax – that wealth from the rich should be used to help the poorest in society
  • This act financed the rest of the liberal reforms

S
I
C
K / National Insurance Part I 1911 /
  • Gave workers security and peace of mind
  • Workers were now more likely to seek medical assistance rather than wait for problem to escalate
  • 10 million men and 4 million women were covered by the scheme
/
  • No provision for hospitals
  • Dependents (other members of the family) were not included in the scheme
  • NI was another tax on already low wages
  • Flat rate contributions (everyone paying the same) hit the poor harder than the rich

U
N
E
M
P
L
O
Y
E
D / Labour Exchanges Act 1909 /
  • By 1913 there were 430 labour exchanges in Britain
  • By 1914 2 million workers per year were being helped to find work
/
  • Exchanges were initially viewed with suspicion as a way of the government trying to break union power and strikes

National Insurance Part II
1912 /
  • Softened the worst effects of unemployment in the industries that suffered the most
  • Gave the workers who were covered
/
  • Merely a “lifebelt”
  • Benefit cut off after 15 weeks for “not genuinely seeking work” even if there was no work in the area
  • Only 2 million workers covered
  • Only some trades were covered – almost exclusively skilled men