Government involvement in public health - 1900 - 1948
The extent of government involvement in The health of the population as a whole, and methods used to prevent disease and keep people healthy. has grown since 1900. By the middle of the 20th century, the A state (or country) where the government provides welfare benefits, such as education, health care and unemployment payments, to its population free at the point of use, although they are paid for by general taxation. had been firmly established.
Housing
During this period important government action on housing was taken:
| 1909 Housing Act |
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| 1919 Housing Act |
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| 1930 Housing Act |
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| 1945 onwards |
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| 1909 Housing Act |
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| 1919 Housing Act |
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| 1930 Housing Act |
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| 1945 onwards |
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Liberal reforms
Between 1906 and 1911, the Liberal Party passed a series of laws to improve life for the poor. They were partly influenced by social reformers such as Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree, who had carried out research in London and York. Their investigations showed that:
- about 30 per cent of people in London and York lived below the The estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life.
- most poverty was a result of low wages, unemployment, old age and illness
The Liberal reforms were a big step forward in improving the people’s health. However, they were limited, as the table below shows.
| Reform | Improvements | Limitations |
| Free school meals, 1906 | Local authorities were allowed to provide free school meals so that children would eat at least one decent meal per day. | Only half of Britain’s local authorities decided to set up a meals service. |
| Medical checks, 1907 | Every local education authority had to set up a school medical service. These provided regular medical checks. From 1912, they also provided treatment in school clinics. | Medical care varied across the country. |
| Old age pensions, 1908 | People aged over 70 with no other income would receive an old age pension of five shillings per week (around £20 in today’s money). The effect was huge. The number of people seeking help from charities fell by over 80,000. | Five shillings per week was a very limited amount of money and some people struggled to support themselves on it. |
| National Insurance, 1911 | National Insurance covered all men and women who earned under £160 per year (around £12,500 in today’s money). Workers, employers and the government all contributed to a fund each week. In return, the worker could receive up to 26 weeks of sick pay and free medical care. Extra contributions were collected from workers in trades where occasional unemployment was common, such as shipbuilding. Workers could then receive a small amount of unemployment benefit for up to 15 weeks. | Workers had to contribute to the fund out of their own wages. Workers’ families were not entitled to medical care. The unemployment benefit was not enough to support a working person and their family. |
| Reform | Free school meals, 1906 |
|---|---|
| Improvements | Local authorities were allowed to provide free school meals so that children would eat at least one decent meal per day. |
| Limitations | Only half of Britain’s local authorities decided to set up a meals service. |
| Reform | Medical checks, 1907 |
|---|---|
| Improvements | Every local education authority had to set up a school medical service. These provided regular medical checks. From 1912, they also provided treatment in school clinics. |
| Limitations | Medical care varied across the country. |
| Reform | Old age pensions, 1908 |
|---|---|
| Improvements | People aged over 70 with no other income would receive an old age pension of five shillings per week (around £20 in today’s money). The effect was huge. The number of people seeking help from charities fell by over 80,000. |
| Limitations | Five shillings per week was a very limited amount of money and some people struggled to support themselves on it. |
| Reform | National Insurance, 1911 |
|---|---|
| Improvements | National Insurance covered all men and women who earned under £160 per year (around £12,500 in today’s money). Workers, employers and the government all contributed to a fund each week. In return, the worker could receive up to 26 weeks of sick pay and free medical care. Extra contributions were collected from workers in trades where occasional unemployment was common, such as shipbuilding. Workers could then receive a small amount of unemployment benefit for up to 15 weeks. |
| Limitations | Workers had to contribute to the fund out of their own wages. Workers’ families were not entitled to medical care. The unemployment benefit was not enough to support a working person and their family. |
The National Health Service
During World War Two, a committee was set up by the government to investigate social welfare. It was chaired by the economist William Beveridge. The committee published a report in 1942, known as the Beveridge Report. It said there were ‘five giants’ that needed to be tackled. These were:
- idleness - caused by a lack of employment opportunities
- ignorance - caused by people lacking a good education
- disease - caused by unaffordable health care
- squalor - caused by poor-quality housing
- Lacking the basics or necessities of life - such as food - often as a result of grave or extreme poverty. - caused by poverty
It recommended that the British state should provide a comprehensive system of Financial assistance given by the state to individuals with a very low income or none at all. to look after its citizens in all these areas. The Labour Party was elected in 1945 on the promise to enact these recommendations. They extended the Liberals’ National Insurance scheme, cleared slums and expanded free education.
In 1948, they introduced the National Health Service (NHS), which has transformed the health of the people. Until 1948, about 8 million of Britain’s population had never seen a doctor because they could not afford it. By making health care free for everyone, the NHS improved the health of millions of people. The diagram below summarises some of the services offered by the NHS.
