Between 1945 and 1952, the Labour Government were faced with many problems, Britain had lost a quarter of its wealth and there was a shortage of raw materials. To help meet the needs of people, Labour introduced new reforms which made up the Welfare State. These reforms were introduced to abolish the 'Five Giants' - want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Labour Government were partially effective in meeting the needs of the people.
Poverty was a major issue in Britain which affected all other issues, so it was important for Labour to abolish their first 'giant', want. To tackle poverty, Labour set up reforms to help the lower and working classes. In 1945, the Family Allowance Act was introduced. This act gave two to three million …show more content…
This act did help meet the people's needs to some extent, however, even though it was only families with more than one child who were paid it still cost the Government £59 million in 1947 alone. During 1946, the National Insurance Act was passed. This scheme was supposed to insure everyone from 'the cradle to the grave,' which meant would be insured for illness at work, unemployment, maternity and widows' benefits. This act was somewhat effective as it prevented families from falling into 'the poverty trap' if the families main provider was out of work. However, the act was supposed to cover everyone, but instead those who couldn't make 156 weekly contributions weren't insured. Consequently, this act didn't meet the unemployed or the elderly's needs. Two years later, the National Assistance Act was passed. This act was supposed to act as a 'safety net', to help those not covered by the National …show more content…
In 1944, the Butler's Education Act was passed. This was important as it provided secondary education for everyone between eleven and fifteen, no matter how poor they were. As a result, over a thousand new schools had been built by 1950. However, along with this act Labour introduced a new scheme whereby pupils were sent to different schools depending on their ability, if pupils passed the '11 plus exam' they were sent to grammar schools instead of the new secondary schools. A small amount of pupils went to these grammar schools, but whoever did normally stayed on at school after they turned fifteen, these pupils were seen as the people who would later hold the most important jobs throughout Britain. Unlike the pupils at the secondary schools, who would leave at fifteen with no paper qualifications. As one historian said - "The Labour government did little for the educational welfare of the working class." Consequently, a greater divide between the poor and rich was created, and the need for an improvement of working class children's lives still remained.
After the war, there was a massive housing shortage, this was Labour's fourth 'giant', squalor. The war led to the destruction of 700,000 homes, due to German bombs. To face this problem, Labour decided to build 200,000 new homes every year. However, due to a lack of raw materials only 157,000 homes were ever made, this was
Poverty was a major issue in Britain which affected all other issues, so it was important for Labour to abolish their first 'giant', want. To tackle poverty, Labour set up reforms to help the lower and working classes. In 1945, the Family Allowance Act was introduced. This act gave two to three million …show more content…
This act did help meet the people's needs to some extent, however, even though it was only families with more than one child who were paid it still cost the Government £59 million in 1947 alone. During 1946, the National Insurance Act was passed. This scheme was supposed to insure everyone from 'the cradle to the grave,' which meant would be insured for illness at work, unemployment, maternity and widows' benefits. This act was somewhat effective as it prevented families from falling into 'the poverty trap' if the families main provider was out of work. However, the act was supposed to cover everyone, but instead those who couldn't make 156 weekly contributions weren't insured. Consequently, this act didn't meet the unemployed or the elderly's needs. Two years later, the National Assistance Act was passed. This act was supposed to act as a 'safety net', to help those not covered by the National …show more content…
In 1944, the Butler's Education Act was passed. This was important as it provided secondary education for everyone between eleven and fifteen, no matter how poor they were. As a result, over a thousand new schools had been built by 1950. However, along with this act Labour introduced a new scheme whereby pupils were sent to different schools depending on their ability, if pupils passed the '11 plus exam' they were sent to grammar schools instead of the new secondary schools. A small amount of pupils went to these grammar schools, but whoever did normally stayed on at school after they turned fifteen, these pupils were seen as the people who would later hold the most important jobs throughout Britain. Unlike the pupils at the secondary schools, who would leave at fifteen with no paper qualifications. As one historian said - "The Labour government did little for the educational welfare of the working class." Consequently, a greater divide between the poor and rich was created, and the need for an improvement of working class children's lives still remained.
After the war, there was a massive housing shortage, this was Labour's fourth 'giant', squalor. The war led to the destruction of 700,000 homes, due to German bombs. To face this problem, Labour decided to build 200,000 new homes every year. However, due to a lack of raw materials only 157,000 homes were ever made, this was