Approaches to State Welfare Provision - Essay Example

Comparison of the approaches to welfare provision in the period 1906-1911 with that of the Poor law Amendment Act of 1834 in England Britain InEngland, Britain, state welfare was created because of the need to help the aged, children, widows, disabled and the un/underemployed. This was necessitated by the loss of traditional forms of charity and the deteriorating economic conditions (Slack 1990). Lindert (1998) reveals that between 1795 and 1834, there was a high level of relief spending England because of farmers who were politically-dominant. They were taking advantage of the relief system for the poor to shift part of their labor expenditures onto taxpayers (Boyer 1990. Clark (2001) states that many rural parish vestries were dominated by farmers who were hiring labour because of the principle of determining the right to vote according to the size of property occupied. In 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act was adopted and this minimised the political power of farmers who were hiring labour leading to a reduction in relief expenditure (Marshall 1985). Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, parishes were grouped into Poor Law unions and by 1839, many of them had been grouped and had already built or were constructing workhouses. The able bodied and their families were receiving outdoor relief (Blaug,1963) through these Poor Law unions. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, various orders were issued and this includes the 1842 Outdoor Labour Test Order and the 1844 Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order. The 1842 Outdoor Labour Test Order was meant to regulate the giving of relief to able-bodied males. Under this order, males who were able-bodied could only be given outdoor relief if they accepted to work by the union. These were unions that did not have workhouses or those in which the enforcement of the workhouse test was not possible (MacKinnon, 1987). As for the 1844 Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order, this order prohibited the giving of outdoor relief to males and females who were able bodied except on account of sudden and urgent necessity and sickness. Many people did not agree on how the local administration of relief was impacted on by the New Poor Law or rather, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. As a result, this Act was followed by other amendments which were supported by a change in attitude of poor people towards relief (Fraser 1976). Between the years 1906-1911, the British parliament passed Liberal welfare reforms. Liberal welfare reforms are a collective term used to refer to many social welfare legislations. These laws provided for free medical inspections, treatment and meals for needy school children and pensions provided on weekly basis for the poor people aged over 70. These laws also led to the establishment of a national unemployment and sickness insurance in 1911. The liberal reforms reduced the role of poor relief and led to the abolition of the Poor Law. (Rose 1971). The above indicates that the able-bodied persons were excluded from receiving relief as compared to the provisions of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 that allowed for conditional provision of relief to the able-bodied. The abolishment of the Poor Law indicates that the government was now changing its role in providing welfare support to its citizens. At this time, the government continued to help males who were not employed but not through Poor Law. Instead, cities were encouraged by the Local Government Board to establish work relief projects whenever the level of unemployment was high (Brundage 1978). The circular issued by the government stated that it is not good that the working class people should be familiarised with relief coming forth because of the Poor Law. Employment was also provided for people whose state of unemployment arose from dislocation of trade. This was done by large cities only. This means the government was changing the provision of welfare from direct goods or services that are free into providing a way for getting them through labour. In simple terms, this is a change from free relief to work relief. Reasons for change of approach to state welfare provision As noted in the above paragraph, one reason for a change of approach to state welfare provision by the government is that it did not want the unemployed persons to familiarize with the relief afforded by the Poor Law. In other words, the government was trying to discourage laziness that could be encouraged by the availability of un-worked-for food. Another reason behind the issue of change in approach to this issue was to reduce expenses spend on relief. The Poor Law provided for more medical care for the poor and this led to the nation recording increased expenditures in terms of real per capita relief. Beginning 1871 and continuing past 1941, there was an increase in the number of alternative sources of assistance for the poor and this led to a decline in the role of the Poor Law. This is the main reason for the changes in approach to relief by the government. There was increased membership of friendly societies like mutual help associations and trade unions beginning from the mid 19th century. Mutual help associations offered death, accident and sickness benefits and sometimes superannuation or old age benefits to its members. Labour unions offered mutual insurance policies to its members. This provided workers and their dependants security against job loss. With the above improvements, only a few people who were members of friendly societies required to apply for assistance through the Poor law (Blaug 1964). At the same time, there was also a change of attitude towards relief among the poor. Lees (1998) explains that they begun to shift their view of relief from being an entitlement into seeing it as a stigmatization. Because of this, many poor people did their best to avoid applying for government relief. As a result of the reduction of the role played by the relief for the poor, the government abolished the Poor Law. Conclusion During the 19th and 20th centuries, Britain made several amendments to the Acts directing the provision of relief to the people and the most influential of these were the Liberal welfare reforms. These reforms led to changes in approach to state welfare provision as well as the role of the state in providing welfare support to its citizens. Various factors led to this and the one of the major reasons is an increase in alternative assistance. This was supported by change in attitude towards relief among the poor and the government’s aim to reduce relief expenditure. References Blaug Mark. (1963). “The Myth of the Old Poor Law and the Making of the New.”Journal of Economic History (23) pp 151-184. Blaug Mark (1964). “The Poor Law Report Re-examined.” Journal of Economic History. (24) pp 229-245. Boyer George. (1990). An Economic History of the English Poor Law, 1750-1850. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Brundage Anthony. (1978). The Making of the New Poor Law. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Clark, Gregory. (2001). “Farm Wages and Living Standards in the Industrial Revolution: England, 1670-1869.” Economic History Review. (54) pp 477-505. Fraser Derek. (1976). The New Poor Law in the Nineteenth Century. Macmillan. London. Lees Lynn. (1998). The Solidarities of Strangers: The English Poor Laws and the People, 1770-1948. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Lindert Peter (1998). “Poor Relief before the Welfare State: Britain versus the Continent, 1780- 1880.” European Review of Economic History (2) pp 101-140. MacKinnon Mary (1987). “English Poor Law Policy and the Crusade Against Outrelief.” Journal of Economic History (47) pp 603-625. Marshall John. (1985). The Old Poor Law, 1795-1834 (2nd Ed). Macmillan. London. Rose Michael (1971). The English Poor Law, 1780-1930. David and Charles. Newton Abbot. Slack Paul (1990). The English Poor Law, 1531-1782. Macmillan. London. Read More