Modern Social Policy - Essay Example

? Introduction Modern social welfare provision in Britain s back to the Elizabethan poor laws and continues to develop with each period differingin quantity, availability and quality. However, the welfare state mostly developed as a result of surveys of poverty that showed inadequacies of poor law. The aim of this paper is to describe and explore the development of social welfare provision in Britain in order to ascertain why there have been movement towards more state intervention during three historic periods: Pre World-War 1 (19th and 20th century), World War 1 (1914-1918) and inter-war years (1918-1939). This will entail use of the functionalist approach which views social welfare development as a response to emerging needs and the conflict approach that views the development as a result of labour movements. First, a brief history of social welfare will be given in order to understand origins and the workings of the old Elizabethan poor law which is the basis of welfare state in Britain. Next, the 19th and 20th century approaches to provision of poverty and public health will be outlined. This is to provide an illustration of early welfare provision and the key themes which have dominated this field for decades. The effect of political, economic and social influences on government intervention will be discussed especially the influence of industrial revolution on society and resulting social problems. The role of the liberal party which came into power in 1906 and labour movements in extending welfare provision will be explained. The effect of the great depression on welfare provision is also of great importance to understanding the increased state intervention during inter-war years. Lastly, a summary of the main points discussed will be given. In order to understand the development of the social welfare in Britain it is essential to understand its history. Much of Britain’s welfare policies emanated from the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. It established parishes which were responsible for providing relief for the poor (Alcock, Erskine & May, 2003). It also established workhouses where those in need could be assisted and work in return. One could only get relief at his parish of birth and it mostly targeted men as women and children were regarded as dependents. According to Ritter (1986) the workhouses were meant to reduce the eligibility of men to social welfare provision by limiting relief to those in workhouses although out-relief was still being offered to the poor. This was also the origin of the dreaded term ‘pauperism.’ Those receiving relief were stigmatised and viewed as lazy members of the society who did not want to work (Dean, 2006). As revealed by poverty surveys, the Elizabethan Poor law did not alleviate poverty and was repealed in 1834. The Pre-war social welfare in Britain was dominated by the laissez-faire ideology and according to Walsh, Stephens and Moore (2000) increased state intervention in welfare provision. One of the factors attributed to this is the efficiency of the German welfare system in promoting economic competitiveness that prompted many nations to emulate the system (Dean, 2006). Thane (1996; 2011) argues that it was the industrial revolution in Britain in 18th century continuing into the 20th century that sparked reforms in welfare provision before WWI. The role of the liberal party which came into power in 1906 cannot be overemphasised as well as the philosophy of social liberalism prevalent at the time. Industrial revolution began in the 18th century and with it brought many economic and social changes that influenced the development of social welfare in Britain (Walsh et al. 2000). Before then, Britain was an agricultural country but thereafter transformed into a factory-based economy. The domestic system had been the prevalent system in 18th century and workers worked at own homes producing food for subsistence. They could work at their own pace and control their working conditions but due to industrialisation this system was replaced by the factory system which allowed people to move from their locations to work in cities where factories were located. Furthermore, the items they produced were not for own consumption but for sale and as such they were paid wages in exchange. This according to Spicker (2008) was the beginning of major health and social welfare problems that influenced early interventions in provision of social welfare. There were various social changes that occurred during pre world-war. Families changed in size as some members moved to new localities and also changes in lifestyle. Due to concentration of population in cities there was a social upheaval that affected the physical and social conditions in which people lived. These include: shortage of housing; sanitation problems; public health problems especially disease outbreaks and epidemics; exploitation of the working class and increased poverty (Laybourn, 2002). These social problems called for a way to deal with them and to eliminate poverty. The poor law in this case was good solution to these problems but individuals like Malthus were against such measures. For him, poverty was inevitable in society and thus the poor should not be helped rest problems of overpopulation emanated (Alcock et al. 2003). For Ricardo, the poor law undermined the wages of independent workers and schemes such as Speenharmland only served to depress wages (Block & Somers, 2003). The Speenharmland system provided for outdoor relief which led employers to pay low wages and forced workers to claim relief. For Bentham, since people did only what was pleasant claiming relief was unpleasant thus stigmatising relief. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 thus brought strains on efforts to offer state relief. It advocated for less eligibility to restore self-respect of the working people, workhouse tests to make unattractive, stoppage of outdoor relief, and for parishes to join unions and have workhouses run by Board of Guardians (Rubery, 2010). The law was restrictive in nature thus other forms of relief existed in form of friendly societies, trade unions, mutual aid, and self-help. The laissez-faire system was based on the belief that personal effort and hard work could solve social problems (Dean, 2006). The philanthropic voluntary institutions on the other hand required people they helped to conform to their won religious beliefs and moral standards thus could not help much in alleviating social problems. Walsh et al (2000) asserts that more involvement in state intervention beginning the end of 19th century was due to pressure from socialist movements such as the trade unions and the liberal government that came into power during this period. Due to pressure from socialist movements there was change in beliefs about the social welfare system. The belief that poverty could be eliminated through hard work was no longer sustainable and the poor were no longer blamed for their situation. A moral distinction was also made between people ‘deserving’ and those ‘not deserving’ of social welfare and the government compelled to intervene to provide services (Ritter, 1986; Thane, 1984). The tests indicated the people who deserved or eligible for support and the government used the welfare to deter the growing demand for social welfare. The role of the state thus expanded during the period. Another reason why state intervention increased was to deal with health problems arising out of effects of industrialisation. Problems such as overcrowding, lack of good sewerage system, lack of clean water and industrial pollution leading to infectious diseases needed to be tackled thus prompting reforms in public health policy. Of utmost importance was the Edwin Chadwick report on sanitary conditions of labouring population in 1842. This led to enactment of public health legislation at the end of 19th century (Walsh et al. 2000). Various Acts were enacted such as the 1846 Sanitary Act, 1848 Public Health Act that created general health board and permitted local authorities to set up local boards to improve sanitation as well as the 1865 Sewage Utilisation Act which set national standards for safe sewerage disposal (p. 38). On the part of education the 1870 Education Act provided free and compulsory elementary education for all up to age 12 and later age 14 and Local Education Authorities established in 1902 (Alcock et al. 2003). However, these improvements still insisted on minimal state intervention. Economic liberalism dominated much of 19th Century but this changed during 20th century due to development of social liberalism. The laissez-faire individualist approach to social welfare was replaced by collectivist ideas (Walsh et al. 2000). Furthermore, the problems and inadequacies of the poor law system led to change in attitude by the liberal government. It thus provided a third way to solving social problems through increased government intervention. The efficiency of the German welfare system in promoting economic competitiveness in the 1900s could not go unnoticed by other states and Britain was no exception. It thus reformed into a welfare state providing welfare for all citizens. Notable changes include the 1905 Unemployment Workmen Act that established labour exchanges; 1906 Education Act providing free school meals and school medical services in 1907; 1908 Old Age Pensions Act and 1908 Children Act making parents legally responsible for child neglect. The most notable achievement was the National Insurance Act of 1911 providing for health and unemployment insurance. These were compulsory and financed through weekly contributions by employee, employer and government (Spicker, 2008; Tiffin, 1982). However, it did not cover hospital treatment and the dependants and was confined to particular industries. The labour government continued its efforts in providing state welfare but this role extended during the WWI. The war according to Dean (2006) served to strengthen central government’s responsibility for social conditions. There were rent strikes due to high rents by landlords for houses which were in poor conditions. This led to the rent control in private rented sector in 1915. The government also promised to reconstruction for better society in order to bolster war effort. The government was also involved much in regulating the labour market during the war period thus increased welfare intervention. The war ended in 1918 paving way for reconstruction which had been promised during the war. The period was thus dominated by large-scale council housing building. This was after a housing legislation in 1924 by the labour government and consequently by the conservative government. The 1920 insurance Act extended insurance to most workers and dependants while a contributory old-age, widows and orphans pensions was introduced. The poor law unions were abolished through the local government Act in 1929 (Walsh et al. 2000 p. 42). The period also faced a great depression in the 1930s undermining the previous gains that had been made. Unemployment grew leading to increased poverty and health problems requiring state intervention. The large scale slum clearance in 1930s also worsened family poverty as higher rents were charged for the new houses. New socialist ideas developed which view social policy as promoting equality (Daly, 2011). There was also realisation that the insurance principle as a way of providing security of income and health was limited. The government thus extended the pension schemes, health and unemployment insurance. As such the poor law services were transformed into municipal public services under the state. Conclusion The social welfare provisions in Britain have moved towards more state intervention especially during the pre world-war period, WWI and inter-war periods due to various factors. For most part of the 19th century, the poor law dominated provision of welfare services. It was based on laissez-faire ideals which view provision of poor relief as encouraging poverty thus advocating for hard work and personal effort. However, the industrial revolution brought many social changes that changed welfare provision. There were increased health problems and poverty requiring state intervention and the attractiveness of the German welfare system provided a chance for reforms. The liberal government with its socialist ideas also led to more intervention. There was a change from economic liberalism to social liberalism which advocated more state intervention. As such the poor law was abolished and state took over those responsibilities. The increased state intervention can be seen as result of social, political and economic changes in Britain. References Alcock, P., Erskine, A and May, M (eds). (2003). The Students’ Companion to Social Policy. Oxford: Blackwell Block, F and Somers, M. (2003). In the shadow of Speenhamland: social policy and the old poor law. Politics and Society, 31 : 283-323 Daly, M. (2011) Welfare. 3 edn. Cambridge: Polity Press Dean, H (2006) Social Policy. Cambridge: Polity Press. Laybourn, K (2002). Social Welfare: Public and Private, 1900-1939. In C. Wrighly. A Companion to Early Twentieth-Century Britain. UK: Blackwell. Ritter, Gerhard A. (1986). Social Welfare in Germany and Britain: Origins and Development. Trans. Kim Traynor. New York: Berg. Rubery, J. (2010). ‘The UK Welfare State: More than Residual but Still Insufficient,’ In: Dominique, A., Gerhard, B., Jill, R. eds. The Welfare State and Life Transitions: A European Perspective. UK: Edward Elgar. Spicker, P. (2008). Social Policy: Themes and Approaches. UK: Polity Press. Thane, P. 1996. Foundations of the Welfare State. 2nd edn. London: Longman Thane, P. (2011). The making of National Insurance, 1911. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 19(3): 211-219. Tiffin, Susan. (1982) In Whose Best Interest? Child Welfare Reform in the Progressive Era. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Walsh, M., Stephens, P and Moore, S (2000). Social Policy and Welfare. UK: Nelson Thornes Read More