Liberal Reforms 1906-1912 (Social Issues 1900-1918) (Britain 1900-1951)

The basis was...

• It is not always the fault of the poor that they are poor.
• It is the role of the government to support the poor when they need it most

Reasons for liberal reforms:

• All social issues 1900-1918
• Debates about poverty
  • Reports of Booth (London) & Rowntree (York)
• New concerns for national efficiency
  • Industrial growth in Europe threatened Britain
    • Germany
  • Army recruitment problems in Boer War
    • 8,000/11,000 army recruits in Manchester unfit for service.
• A shift within Liberalism to New Liberalism
  • Figuers like Lloyd George & Churchill
• Concerns for rising popularity of Communism & the threat of the new Labour Party

• Free school meals, 1906
  • Local councils given power to give free meals to poor children
  • Paid form local taxes on property
  • Made compulsory in 1914
  • 150,000 children involved
  • Less than half authorities in England and Wales provided it
• School medical inspections 1907
  • Doctors and nurses went to schools providing free compulsory medical checks
  • Could recommend any necessary treatment
  • Treatment payment by parents till 1910
• Education act 1907
  • Scholarships for children from poor families
  • Secondary schools received money from the local government to reserve 20% of places for poor children
  • Places chosen through an exam
• Children’s act 1908 (children’s charter)
  • Established a legal framework to protect children
  • Protected by law against cruelty from their parents
  • Children’s homes registered and inspected
  • Juvenile courts set up
  • Children over 14 sent to adult prisons
  • Under 14 not allowed in pubs
  • Under 16 not to be sold cigarettes or alcohol
• School clinics

• Old Age Pensions Act 1908
  • Very radical
  • Weekly pensions provided by government
    • 5p for each single person, 6p for each married couple
  • Full amounts only paid to those who earned less than £21 a year
  • Sliding scale of payment for those earning between £31-21
  • Available to British citizen for 20+, could not be in prison during the 10 years before claiming pension
  • First paid January 1909
  • Very popular 

• Labour Exchange Act 1909
  • National string of state labour exchanges
  • Unemployed went to exchanges to seek a job
  • Much more efficient for employers and employees
  • 430 exchanges by 1913
• National Insurance Act 1911
  • Flagship of the period
  • All manual workers and people in low paid jobs had to join
  • Workers paid 4d for insurance stamp on special card
  • Employers gave 3d per worker on the scheme
  • Government gave 2d for each worker
  • Received free medical care
  • Sick pay of 10s per week for 13 weeks and 5s per week for a further 13 weeks
  • Covered 10 million men and 4 million women
• National Insurance Act 1912
  • Necessary to deal with people periodically out of work
  • Open to industry with seasonal employment – shipbuilding
  • Workers, employers and government paid 2d per week for insurance stamps
  • When unemployed workers got paid 7s 6d for up to 15 weeks a year 

• Cost a fortune, never quite paid for
• Were not extensive enough
• Means tested
• Only ½ million people qualified for pensions
• National insurance cover 14 million
• Not all acts were compulsory