Social Policy- History of social welfare in England UK 1

Analyse The Development of Social Policy on and Attitudes to Poverty from The 19 Century

Through to The Current Day Today?

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 Social Policy- History of social welfare in England UK2

Introduction

Social welfare is defined as the efforts put up by a state, government, charities or

social and local area community groups to cater for the needs of those considered less

fortunate in the community (Garton, 2008,p.6). For one to be termed less fortunate in this

case, they must be without the ability to cater for their own basic needs which include food

and clothing, shelter, healthcare and schooling (Brodman, n.d.,p.4). Currently, almost every

sovereign state has its own social welfare programmes where funding in most cases is drawn

from taxes. This paper therefore is intended to conduct a detailed analysis of the development

of social policy on and attitudes to Poverty from the 19 century through to the current day

today taking into consideration Social Policy and History of social welfare in England UK.

1.1. Analyse the development of social welfare from a historical perspective

The rise of social welfare can be traced back before 1000AD, with various religious

groups and governments taking up the responsibility of tending to the needs of the poor. The

Roman and Chinese dynasties are some of the earliest recorded cases where the government

provided for its less fortunate citizens (Pullan, 1971,p.11). The government efforts were met

through the tax remittances of the citizens who had no control over how much money was

diverted to social welfare or how it was prioritized. Looking at religion, both Christianity and

Islam have charity as core pillars of the religions which saw members of both religions, as a

requirement, provide for the poor as early as 40AD (Crone, 2005,p.9). The church relied on

charity giving by well-wishers in most cases and it can be stated that its main role was

overseeing the disbursement of funds and other donated items to those in need (Nelson,

2001,p.13).

Some services provided by the governments were feeding programmes, public clinics,

retirement homes and shelters. These programmes were however not incorporated into law

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but were treated as unofficial policies until the English Poor Law which came into practice in

1601 where the church was given the responsibility of overseeing welfare programmes (Barry

& Jones, 1991,p.15). This was the basis of many state welfare programmes in the 19th and 20th

centuries that saw social welfare legally incorporated into the European states’ policies, a

move that was later adopted by other states across the world over time. Currently, almost

every European, American, Latin American and South Pacific sovereign state in the world

has a welfare policy. These welfare policies take the form of subsidies, monetary payments

and vouchers, housing and healthcare provisions and beneficiaries are in most cases the

elderly, unemployed, the disabled and veterans (McCurdy & Jones, 2008,p.11).

2.1: Analyse different attitudes and views to social welfare reforms from the 19th C.

onward, using primary and secondary data.

As with most state or religious policies, these programs are not without their own

criticisms. Welfare programs around the world have been criticised both negatively and

positively. Among the most vocal negative criticisms, the two themes that stand out most are

the moral and economic point of view (Villa, 2016, p.29). Positive acclaim comes from

socialist and humanitarian groups who’ve acknowledged these efforts as means to combat

poverty. It is however worth noting that, currently, most criticisms are negative and

encourage reduced government spending on welfare (Villa, 2016, p.32). From an economic

point of view, conservatives have claimed that state welfare leads to dependents who prefer

welfare assistance over employment. This is due to the fact that individuals living on welfare

programs are adequately catered for financially and therefore do not need to seek

employment (Bartholomew, 2013,p.7). Most developed nations also have heavily subsidised

education systems and healthcare programmes. For instance, in the UK alone, over half the

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population considers welfare benefits too high and as such, the unemployed are discouraged

from seeking employment. Additionally, the able demographic ends up resenting tax paying

as it serves to create benefits for others and this has led to hostility between the different

social classes (Ryan, 2012,p.9).

With welfare fraud in the UK alone costing the taxpayers over £1.2billion, some

members the government advocated for a reduction in welfare funding so as to promote

behaviour change and responsibility. Public figures and religious organizations have also

stated that welfare in the UK has made no significant improvement in the lives of the poor

and is therefore unsustainable (Tanner, 2008,p.21).

Others have claimed it is merely an attempt to cover the inequality and poverty in the

states brought about by immoral economic practices. Socialists throughout the various

generations have attributed high levels of poverty to capitalistic governments and economies.

They claim that by providing these welfare state services, governments can capitalize on the

capitalist markets unquestioned while offering the welfare state benefits as incentives to the

demographic living in poverty (Hicks, 2000,p.11).

For instance, the welfare state within the different countries in the UK has been

welcomed by humanitarian and some socialist groups as, not only a means of reducing

poverty but battling it too. The main benefits of welfare in the UK include the healthcare

sector where subsidized healthcare has been introduced, subsidized education system, social

security and unemployment allowances. As such, it has been largely welcomed by those

living in poverty (Bartholomew, 2013,p.11).

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3.1. Analyse the concepts of need, absolute poverty and relative poverty.

Neediness is defined as a state of lacking a particular amount of personal material

possessions or general scarcity. It is also defined as lacking enough money for general

sustenance. The term is interchangeable with poor. It is a state that could exist whether the

particular subject being studied has an income or not. In the case where the individual has an

income, it is usually relatively low and thus is unable to fully provide for them and their

dependants. About 10.7% of the world’s population is considered needy as they live below

the poverty line ($1.90 a day) as of a 2013 survey by the World Bank (World Bank Group,

2016,p.3). As of 2015, it was established that 40% of the British families were considered

needy (Wintour, 2015,p.13).

Absolute Poverty, also referred to as extreme poverty, is the state at which an

individual is severely deprived of the basic human needs which include safe drinking water,

food, shelter, education, sanitation facilities, information and health (United Nations,

1995,p.5). The term ‘absolute poverty’ is not just relatable to money but also means the lack

of access to basic services. Globally, around 20.6% of the population was considered to be

living below the poverty line in 2011. Absolute poverty is mostly experienced in South Asia,

the West Indies, East Asia, the Pacific and Sub Saharan Africa with those regions taking up

96% of the global absolute poverty levels (World Bank Group, 2016,p.4).

Relative poverty on the other hand is where the general population of a particular

country do not get to enjoy a pre-determined minimum level of living standards that is

recognized globally as compared to other countries. It occurs very often in developing nations

where the living standards are usually low and especially where the cost of living is high

(World Bank Group, 2016,p.5). Relative poverty levels vary from country to country. It is

also possible to find individuals living in countries considered to be in relative poverty who

are not needy as they can afford to sustain themselves comfortably. An example is India.

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When compared to the developed nations, a large percentage of the Indian population earns

less than a $1.90 a day yet, owing to the fairly low cost of living, they may not be necessarily

considered poor or needy (World Bank Group, 2016,para.2). These 3 concepts cannot be used

interchangeably because, where they may all mean the same thing in one region, they may

mean entirely different things in another.

3.2. Evaluate the impact of limited resources on the State’s ability to set priorities.

As indicated above, welfare state has received a lot of negative criticism from both

economists and socialists claiming that it is unhealthy for the general economy of a country.

Scholars and economists have gone ahead to state that it is unsustainable as it is derived from

taxes, 90% of which is contributed by only 10% of the total number of taxpayers (Wintour,

2015,p.16).

In the UK, the welfare state is responsible for three major services where all these

services are provided on the basis of human right:

 Guaranteeing a minimum standard of living which includes the minimum wage,

 Providing services at the best possible levels, and

 Social protection in regards to insecurity.

Currently, the services and benefits are extensive but provided only at low levels.

While the provision of these benefits and services is clearly visible, it is notably patchy with

the services rationed to accommodate every one of the dependents (Bartholomew, 2013,p.11).

These benefits and services are paid for by only 60% of the country’s population with a large

percentage of it being made up by a relatively small of the population. With this in mind,

socialists and economists have argued that, if even half of the 10% of taxpayers who

contribute the 90% of taxes decided to retire or move their businesses to other countries, the

state would be in financial crisis. Not to mention, state provided welfare services which

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amount to two thirds of the UK government expenditure would be heavily affected (Wintour,

2015,p.25).

In the UK, state pension, tax credits, housing benefits, disability allowances and

pension credit are the areas where the government notably spends most in terms of welfare.

While the state welfare has generally received negative criticism, tax credits, jobseekers’

allowances and income support especially have seen many economists suggesting that they

make people irresponsible and immature (Bartholomew, 2013,p.26). The government has

been accused of prioritising poorly by spending excessively on these avenues. This saw

former Prime Minister David Cameron’s government cut down on welfare related

expenditure save for health and education services in order to enact austerity measures

(Krugman, 2015,para.6).

The critics’ claims that the government is unable to properly prioritize its welfare

expenditure has gained some traction. It is also noteworthy that, with the pressure on the

working class to maintain these welfare benefits and services through their taxes, a majority

of the British population would not oppose further cuts on those improperly prioritized

services and benefits (Krugman, 2015,para.12).

4.1. Analyse the post war development of social welfare within the context wider issues

affecting society

While the social state social welfare legal policies in the UK had been developed from

as early as the 17th century, the war had many effects on citizens and therefore more

measures had to be taken to ensure that every citizen was well accounted for. The war led to

economic depression, social segregation, political changes, poverty and an increase in war

related injuries and deaths. For that reason, the population wanted new policies that catered

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for these new circumstances. This was evidenced by the election of Clement Richard Attlee’s

Labour Party government by the majority vote (Toye and Whiting, 2002, p.29).

The labour party had social welfare as their main agenda and these measures were to

extend to the entire British population. Their idea was nationalism of as many industries as

possible and these included The Bank of England, iron and steel industries, inland transport

systems and the fuel and power industries (Toye and Whiting, 2002, p.36). This was in bid to

ensure as much of the population had full and secure employment with decent wages and this

also saw the government earning enough to cover its budgetary expenditure on decent

housing for the population.

A post war Britain also saw the introduction of free secondary education for every

citizen, family allowances and introduction of the National Health Service with the

government intending to provide free healthcare for all. Although the National Health Service

is not entirely free at the moment, it has helped a lot of people living in poverty in the UK.

With the introduction of the welfare state services and benefits after the war, the economic

and social class divide has notably grown (Welshman, 2015,p.22). This is because, while the

welfare benefits and services are open to everyone in need of them, they are regarded by the

majority as services for the poor. To help point out this fact, only a very small percentage of

the upper class and upper middle class population in Britain has taken advantage of any

welfare benefits and services. A lot of them prefer to cater for themselves rather than partake

of the subsidized government services (Welshman, 2015,p.25). Unemployment benefits have

also sent many in uproar with many tax payers feeling that they are being forcefully made

responsible for the needy. While social stratification was there before the wars, the divides

seem to have grown more after the war after the introduction of the state welfare (Ferragina

& Seeleib-Kaiser, 2011,p.19).

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References:

Barry, J. & Jones, C., 1991. Introduction to Medicine and Charity before the Welfare State.

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Bartholomew, J., 2013. The Welfare State We're In. 3 ed. s.l. Biteback.

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Crone, P., 2005. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. 1 ed. s.l. Edinburgh University Press.

Ferragina, E. & Seeleib-Kaiser, M., 2011. Welfare Regime Debate: Past, Present, Futures?

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Garton, S., 2008. Health and Welfare. [Online] Available at:

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Krugman, P., 2015. The Austerity Delusions. The Guardian, 29 April.

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