The Evolution Of The British Welfare State

This book has become the standard text on the course of social policy and social ideas in Britain since the Industrial Revolution. To the first edition Professor Fraser has added a new foreword which sets out the variety of approaches which now exist to the history of social policy. Each chapter has been up-dated and revised in the light of recent research and five further documents have been added to the appendix. In a new postscript Professor Fraser discusses the welfare state in the period since 1973 and suggests what its future may be in the 1980s. The bibliography has been completely revised and contains a full survey of articles, so providing a fully up-to-date second edition which offers new insights and material in the light of current research. A third edition, which will bring this classic text up to the 1990s will be published in 1996.

Essay from the year 2017 in the subject History Europe - Other Countries - Modern Times, Absolutism, Industrialization, grade: -, , course: British Welfare State, language: English, abstract: If one was to broadly assert about the main areas of concern and interest for any given state, nation state or whichever form of governance, the domestic policies and the foreign ones would probably be the answer. Though many political entities in the past, or in the present, tend to overlook the domestic matters, it almost always proves to be the case that domestic affairs are as much important as foreign influence - if not much more. In the case of Britain, which formerly led an unchallenged imperial life from the 15th century to the 20th century, many internal social polices had to be carried out during the first half of the 20th century. This move towards the improvement of living conditions in Britain gradually evolved to facilitate the creation of the welfare state in 1945. A broad definition of a welfare state would include the many services every state provides, but in the case of Britain the term takes a more narrowed meaning. A welfare state is that state which provides benefits to its citizens in such areas as unemployment, medical care, education and housing. Before we mention such welfare policies under the Labour Party in Britain after World War II, we will take a look at a background to it, and then we will enumerate some difficulties and the consequential comeback to power of the Conservatives in 1951.

This thorough and accessible survey of British social policy provides a useful appraisal of the Poor Law, the factory question, education, poverty and philanthropy; the social impact of two world wars, the Attlee years and the challenge to the Welfare State since 1951. Recent developments are covered, analysing the extent to which today's welfare decisions are made on political rather than economic or social grounds.

Over the last 200 years Britain has witnessed profound changes in the nature and extent of state welfare. Drawing on the latest historical and social science research The Origins of the British Welfare State looks at the main developments in the history of social welfare provision in this period. It looks at the nature of problems facing British society in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries and shows how these provided the foundation for the growth of both statutory and welfare provision in the areas of health, housing, education and the relief of poverty. It also examines the role played by the Liberal government of 1906-14 in reshaping the boundaries of public welfare provision and shows how the momentous changes associated with the First and Second World Wars paved the way for the creation of the 'classic' welfare state after 1945. This comprehensive and broad-ranging yet accessible account encourages the reader to question the 'inevitability' of present-day arrangements and provides an important framework for comparative analysis. It will be essential reading for all concerned with social policy, British social history and public policy.

The Development of the British Welfare State is divided into three parts, allowing for use on both chronological and service-based courses: Part I provides a chronological overview of the development of the welfare state from its origins in the nineteenth century to the present day; Part II concentrates on the history of the five main welfare service sectors: health, education, personal social services, housing and social security.