Fighting giants

Putting the Beveridge Report into action

Learning objectives

In this lesson you will learn about

• The attack on the five giants, especially want

• Considering the purpose of a source

Background

• May 1945 – Germany surrenders and general election is called

• July 1945 – Labour comes to power with Clement Atlee as PM

• People did not trust the Conservatives but liked Churchill

• Beveridge Report 1942 – proposed huge changes in welfare provision

• Identified five Giants

The giants

• Ignorance• Idleness• Want• Squalor• Disease• People liked the report

and trusted Labour rather than the Conservatives to carry its recommendations out.

National Government changes

• 1942 – free milk and free school meals• Education Act 1944 – restructured

schooling (Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern) and raised the leaving age to 15

• Family Allowances Act 1945 – paid mothers 5 shillings a week per child

• Not introduced until August 1946 – Labour got the credit

Idleness

• Labour government introduced building schemes to provide work for returning soldiers

• Lots of rebuilding to after the damage caused by the war

• Building schools (1944 EA) and hospitals (NHS 1947)

Ignorance

• 1944 Education Act – tripartite system

• Raising the school leaving age to 15

• 1947 Education Act – free education for all up to the age of 15

Disease

• 1947 National Heath Service (NHS) Act – free medical, dental and eye care for all

• 1947 NHS Act – charges on prescriptions

• Charged people for using some NHS services

• Free inoculations for children

Squalor

• 1946 New Towns Act• 17 new towns built in England

and 4 enlarged• 5 new towns in Scotland and one

in Wales• Huge local authority house

building programme – by Sept 1948 750 000 new homes built (the same number destroyed during the war)

Want

• 1945 – Family Allowances Act• 1946 National Insurance Act – workers paid just

under 5 shillings to join scheme• Employers also contribute• In return govt provides unemployment, maternity

and sickness benefit and pensions• 1946 – National Assistance Act – abolished the

Poor Law and provided assistance for the homeless, the disabled and the mentally ill