The Main Features of the Beveridge Document 1942 - Term Paper Example

The Main Features of the Beveridge Document 1942 Introduction The devastating impact of the Second World War disillusioned the people and there was a political vacuum, societal complexity and economic instability. The horrendous experience of the war created an urge to form new ideologies for the society to fight against poverty and ill health. The first proposal to uplift the social conditions prior to the Second World War was recommended by Seebohm Round tree in the Second Round tree Report of 1936. The demands and provisions of the Second Roundtree were taken into consideration to bring about a change in the standard of living. Therefore, towards the middle of the Second World War, the British Government requested William Beveridge, the economist to form a report in harmony with the Royal Commission and thus came into existence the Beveridge Report of 1942. The Labour Government that was elected after the war conducted the actual implementation of the Beveridge Report. The Beveridge Report and the related reforms incorporated both the collectivism and individualism that should be present in standard and proper social policy (Hills, Ditch and Glennerster, 1994, p 41). The Beveridge Report of 1942 initiated for the development of a Welfare state in Britain by improving on the standard of living after the Second World War. The recommendation of the Beveridge Report was to protect the people of the Britain from the five evils of the society. It intended to carry out the campaigns against squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. Beveridge was of the opinion that the British government should be in charge of the lives of the people “from the cradle to the grave” (Chandler, 2002, p 25). Beveridge was chosen for framing the ideologies for the development of Welfare State, as he was an economist and had the first experience of reforming the liberal policies from 1906 to 1914. Then what made him to propose for a Welfare State in Britain? The obvious answer was that he realized that the nation needed to be relieved from the perils of poverty and ill health. Secondly, he was a man involved in policy making and wanted to implement the proposals of the Seebohm Roundtree of 1936 on a wider scale to cater to the needs of the people. With the publication of the Beveridge Report in 1942, it became a bestseller and it was accepted both by the Government and the people. (Chandler, 2002, p 25) It included certain blocks like the National Health Service Act of 1946, the National Insurance Act of 1946, the National Assistance Act of 1948 and the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947. These were the building blocks for consolidating the Welfare State (Rowe, 2004, p 48). The ending of the Second World War with the allied victory won support in favor of the Beveridge report of 1942. The urgency to reform the demolished post war scenario resulted in people’s affinity towards an alternative form of ideologies and social proceedings and they looked forward to the Beveridge Report to overcome their fallen state. The Gallup Poll of April, 1943 reported that about “57 percent of the respondents would like to go for great changes in their way of life after the war” (Jacobs, 1993, p 112). The survey from the Gallup poll of June 1944 that 68 percent of the people voted for the change from war to peace. In that atmosphere, the Beveridge Repert was like a platform for the people to raise their voice for change. Therefore, the Report was strongly supported. The Gallup Poll held in December 1942 got a huge response from the people regarding the Beveridge Report. The Poll showed that 95 percent of the people had heard about the Beveridge Report. The public supported the Report on the three major recommendations regarding the new measures of health service, special privileges for the children and a resolution to provide full employment. The attitude of the public towards health reflected the people’s eagerness to adopt a social welfare society. However, it was also stated that the people were feared that the Beveridge Report might not take control over the administrative and financial policies in a rigid way like the State. However, the public could not approve of turning the doctors into automatons. The public response was not in favor of this measure of adoption that would change their mind and they would behave like civil servants. The strict control of the state over the medical service was one of the vital reasons for the people to vote for the Beveridge Report. The Poll also showed that the majority of the people favored the construction of the GP care. This would enable to remove the dual system of the private and panel system and there would be no biasness in the treatment of the patients. The public also expressed their suspicion in managing the GP care by the government (Jacobs, 193, pp. 112-116). The first part of the report speaks of the proposal for a Welfare State intending to improve on the educational system of the nation. Thus in 1944, the Butler Education Act was enforced. The primary aim of this Act was to abolish ignorance and create social awareness through education. The state run school should give free education to the children and the minimum school leaving age was raised to fifteen years. The Act also made provision for the bifurcation between primary and secondary schools. At the age of 11 year, students would appear for a test to decide on the type of education would be suitable for them. There would be three types of schools- Grammar, secondary Modern and Technical. An equality of status and resources should be maintained among all the schools. (Chandler, 2002, p. 26) The Beveridge Report also made provisions for better quality of medical treatment and health insurance. Britain was deprived of a proper medical team to give aid to the people irrespective of their classes. Therefore, the Beveridge report recommended “A comprehensive National health service will ensure that for every citizen there is available whatever medical treatment he requires” (Carrier and Kendall, 1998, p. 54). A relationship between social security and health was recognised in the Beveridge Report. Beveridge made a critical evaluation of the existing scheme of providing compensation to the workers. According to him, the existing pattern was ineffective in rehabilitating the injured workers and was unable to give them proper medication. This was an exemplary to state that an urgent need to develop a comprehensive health service was mandatory. This would bring about a strong social security in the nation. The Report also aimed at cutting down the excess expenditure on administration. Beveridge also recommended that the administrative cost should be separated from the cost involved in the medical treatmrnts. The state should bear the cost for the medical service, rehabilitation and for organizing the funerals. The improved condition of the health would result in a healthier nation (Carrier and Kendall, 1998, pp. 55-58). In the Beveridge Report, provisions were also made to eradicate unemployment and poverty. It proposed for the optimum necessities of life and observed on the minimum level of income to bear the cost of house rent, expenditure for food and clothing. It also made provision for providing fifty shilling a week to the family of five members (Williams, 1998, p. 367). Before the formation and enactment of the Beveridge Report, we had found that even the British Medical Association also located the regions of scarcity in the medical department. It also proposed for widening the area of the availability of medicines and immediate treatment in case of emergency. The Beveridge Report of 1942 also made a room for the government to negotiate with the doctors. According to the terms of this Report, a many hospitals were nationalized. The availability of the medical treatment was based on four grounds- it should be universal, it should be comprehensive. It should be available to the people who needed it and at the time of delivery. The NHS was a ray of hope to the public. However, the practical question of the structure of the delivery equipments and it buying and maintenance cost must be taken into consideration before promising to provide for a fee delivery (Wall and Owen, 2002, pp. 9-10). The Beveridge Report aimed not only to increase the wealth of the nation but also was liberal in distributing the wealth to the people who were in serious need of money and those nations. At that point, of time Israel was a nation not yet been able to herald its economic independence. The Beveridge Report was there to give monetary support to this small nation. It stated that “The object of the government in peace and in war is not the glory of the rulers or of races, but the happiness of the common man” (Hills, Ditch and Glennerster, 1994, p. 10). This message was transmitted through radios and other means of mass communication. The social reformers from other countries were also influenced by it. Therefore, the Report was perceived to be an international statement for social, security and economic stability (Walker, 1999, p. 33) The Beveridge Report also owed to the New Poor Law of 1834. According to the new Poor Law, the paternalistic social order and relations was put to an end. It also negated the domination in the working class population. However, the Beveridge Report was flexible in approach. It re-modified the existence of class structure in the society and improved on the gender relations. It emphasized on the roles of married women and mothers for the development of the society. However, the widows and the non-working married women were only provided with meager sum of monetary aid (Smart, 2002, pp. 104-106). However, it had been alleged that the Beveridge Report was not fully executed in spite of the post-war Labour party’s initiative to enact a comprehensive abolish unemployment, eradicate disease and sickness and the improve on the neglected state of the old people. Provision was made to derive insurance benefits but it failed to reach out to the people as per the dictums of the Beveridge Report. The National Insurance Act of 1946 was formed to usher in the benefits for the man and the wife. Unfortunately, the erosion completely blew away the real values of the benefits from the insurance. The insurance benefits were evaluated only once in every five year. The family allowances were paid as per the level decided by the Beveridge Report. In fact, it was not augmented until 1956 (Williams, 1998, p. 367). Conclusion The people in general as gladly accepted the Beveridge Report as it was a way to get rid of the most hated conditions of the 1930s. First, was the state of unemployment among the people and second was the Means Test. In other words, the Report was framed to reconstruct and repair the damages of the Second World War and to regulate the Treasury of Britain. The Report was internationally acclaimed. Like any other policies and reports it was also scrutinized and a number of defects but its aim and purpose was noble enough to propose for a Welfare State. The Labour Government was the phenomenal agent in implementing the measures of the Beveridge Report. This implementation ensured the social and economic development for the society. References Hills, J, Ditch, J and H. Glennerster, (1994), Beveridge and Social Security: An International Retrospective, Oxford University Press Rowe, C, (2004), Britain 1929-1998, Heinemann, London Chandler, M, (2002) Britain in the Age of Total War, 1939-45, Heinemann, London Carrier, J and I Kendall, (1998), Health and the National Health Service, Continuum International Publishing Group, London Williams, K, (1998), From Pauperism to Poverty, Routledge, London Wall, A and B. Owen, (2002), Health Policy, Routledge, London Walker, R, (1999), Ending Child Poverty: Popular welfare for the 21st Century, The policy Press Jacobs, L, (1993), The Health of Nations: Public Opinion and the Making of American and British Health Policy, New York: Cornell University Press. Carol, S, (2000), Regulating Womanhood, Routedge, London Read More