The Welfare State
The welfare state was set up alongside the National Health Service soon after the
war and this led to a revolution in care services. It also included secondary
education which was freely available to all children and a programme for more
public housing.
The system was based on the report on national insurance and allied services
produced by Lord Beveridge in 1942. It outlined a network of social care that
would provide care for the individual ‘from cradle to grave’.
After the war the Labour Government began implementing the plans outlined in
the report, with two Welshmen leading the way, namely Aneurin Bevan, the
health and housing minister and James Griffiths, the national insurance minister.
National Insurance and Welfare
The plans were based on the National Insurance Act of 1946 that outlined the structure for a
welfare state. According to the act, which came into force in 1948, employers, employees and the
government paid the insurance and the funds were used to pay benefits to those who couldn’t work or
had retired. It also offered payments for maternity leave, funerals and widows’ pensions.
The 1944 Education Act contributed to the establishment of a welfare state by creating a new
framework of free secondary education for all children up to 15 years of age. In 1945 theFamily
Allowance Act was passed which provided benefits for under 15-year-olds, 15 to 18-year-olds in
education and children over 15 years old who were not in employment. In 1948 the National
Assistance Act was passed, which established a benefits system for those who hadn't paid insurance
contributions but were unable to work due to reasons beyond their control.
The Health Service
In 1946 another key act was passed, namely the Health Service Act that
established a free health service for all.
The scheme included a network of family practitioners, including some in
areas that were in short supply, free treatment and medicine from GPs,
hospitals, dentists and eye specialists. Appointing area nurses, an
ambulance service and vaccinations for babies was the responsibility of
county councils.
The service would be funded by general taxes and some contributions from the national insurance
coffers. Despite opposition from GPs, the service was popular with the general public and was warmly
welcomed in Wales in particular. The service was widely used by working class women in Wales to get
dentures and spectacles.
It was soon realised that the money allocated was insufficient and eventually certain items were
charged for, including dentures, spectacles, dental treatment for over 21s, and prescription
charges. This was anathema to Aneurin Bevan and he resigned in protest.
Housing
Another feature of the creation of a welfare state was the building of
more public housingand Aneurin Bevan was also responsible for this
area. There was a shortage of houses in Britain after the war and many of
the houses that remained were old and in a poor state of repair. The
situation was improved in three ways.
Firstly, temporary measures were used since it was impossible to start
building immediately after the war due to a shortage of materials and
workers, and Britain’s war debts. One of these measures was the building of prefabricated houses –
prefabs. Between 1946 and 1950 157,000 of them were built in Britain and although it was only a
temporary measure, these prefabricated houses were popular, since they were spacious and included a
number of ‘mod cons’.
Secondly, as things started to improve new houses
emphasis being on council houses built by local
1945 and 1951, 8250 houses were built in Wales
average, and 87% of these were council
houses were available for all and by the end of the
the inhabitants of Wales lived on council
build policy continued when the Conservative Party
1951, with 3 million new houses being built in
1950s.
were built, with the
authorities. Between
every year on
houses. These
1960s a quarter of
estates. This new
came to power in
Britain during the
The third element was the building of new towns in Britain. These would have new, modern houses
as well as various new facilities such as play areas for children, shopping centres and leisure
centres. 12 new towns were created in Britain between 1946 and 1950, including one in
Wales, Cwmbran.
http://www.myglyw.org.uk/index.php?id=4276
The Welfare State is the term often used to describe the cluster of welfare reforms introduced by the Labour
government after the end of the Second World War. The Acts were designed to ensure that the state looked
after its citizens 'from the cradle to the grave'.
The main Acts that created the Welfare State were:
The Education Act, 1944, 'The Butler Act'. This raised the school-leaving age to 16, and restructured the school
system.
The Family Allowances Act, 1945. This provided a regular payment of money to all mothers with more than one
child.
The National Insurance Act, 1946. This tidied up and extended the systems of state pensions and unemployment
benefit.
The National Health Service Act, 1948. This took the hospitals into public ownership to ensure a minimum standard
of healthcare for all.
Before the Welfare State
The state's role in welfare began in the early years of the 20th century with the introduction of state pensions and
unemployment benefit. Other piecemeal reforms followed. In London, education had come under the care of the
London County Council early in the century. The Welfare State acts consolidated all the earlier legislation and
extended the state's interest to health, thereby creating an all-embracing, national state system.
After the Welfare State
The principles of the Welfare State began to be rethought after the recession of the 1970s. Soaring costs, particularly
for the health service, produced a new set of ideas about how the state system might be integrated with provision for
those who could afford to pay for their own care. The century ended with continuing debate about how Britain could
maintain its cherished principles of welfare for all.
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/welfare-state-1945-1950