Results

This policy resulted in massive expenditure and a great widening of what was considered to be the state's responsibility. In addition to the central services of education, health, unemployment and sickness allowances, the welfare state also included the idea of increasing redistributive taxation, increasing regulation of industry, food, and housing (better safety regulations, weights and measures controls, etc.)

However the initial foundation of the National Health Service (NHS) did not involve building new hospitals but merely the nationalisation of existing municipal and charitable foundations. The aim was not to substantially increase provision but to standardise care across the country; indeed Beveridge believed that the overall cost of medical care would decrease, as people became healthier and so needed less treatment. Instead the cost rose dramatically, from £9 billion in 1948 (accounting for inflation) to £106 billion in 2011,^[2] and charges (for dentures, spectacles and prescriptions) were introduced in 1951 (by the same Labour government that had founded the NHS three years earlier). Despite this, the principle of health care "free at the point of use" became a central idea of the welfare state, which later governments, critical of the Welfare State, were unable to reverse. The classic Welfare State period lasted from approximately 1945 to the late-1970s, when policies under Thatcherism began to privatise public institutions, although many features remain today, including compulsory National Insurance contributions, and the provision of old age pensions.

The Labour Party, standing in 1945 on a programme of establishing a Welfare State, won a clear victory. However, since the 1980s the British government has begun to reduce some provisions in England: for example, free eye tests for all have now been stopped and prescription charges for drugs have constantly risen since they were first introduced in 1951. Policies differ in different countries of the United Kingdom, but the provision of a welfare state is still a basic principle of government policy in the United Kingdom today.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state_in_the_United_Kingdom)

*The National Health Service

The National Health Service was one of the major achievements of Atlee’s Labour government. The National Health Service (NHS) was introduced in in 1948. This service provided free medical treatment for everyone. The driving force behind the NHS was Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health.

In 1911, the National Health Insurance system provided medical care for 21 million people (according to Bevan) but left the rest of the population having to pay for medical treatment. It became clear to both Beveridge and the Labour Party that people were being denied medical help simply because they could not afford to pay.

The majority of doctors were opposed to the introduction of the NHS as they believed that they would lose money as a result of it. Their main opposition to the NHS was their belief that their professional freedom would be jeopardised i.e. that they would treat fewer private patients and, as a result, lose out financially. They also believed that the NHS would not allow patients to pick their doctor – though this proved to be an unfounded worry.

Once the NHS was introduced, it did prove to be popular with most people. 95% of all of the medical profession joined the NHS. In fact, the NHS proved to be too popular as it quickly found that its resources were being used up. From its earliest days, the NHS seemed to be short of money. Annual sums put aside for treatment such as dental surgery and glasses were quickly used up. The £2 million put aside to pay for free spectacles over the first nine months of the NHS went in six weeks. The government had estimated that the NHS would cost £140 million a year by 1950. In fact, by 1950 the NHS was costing £358 million.

However, the popularity of the NHS meant that in the 1950 election, the Conservatives promised to keep it – though this was of little importance as Labour won that election.

In 1951, the Labour government introduced a charge for some dental treatment (free false teeth) and for prescriptions for medicine. Aneurin Bevan resigned from the government in protest at this. Bevan wanted a free health service and nothing else.

(http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/national_health_service.htm)

10). Britain Joining Europe*

Task 24. What do you know about the following things:

Cold War, EEC, European Court of Human rights?

Task 25. Who are the following people:

Charles de Gaulle, Edward Heath, Jacques Chirac?

Task 26. Answer the following questions:

1. Describe the process of Britain joining the EEC.

2. What was the attitude of France and other European countries to the possibility of UK becoming a member of the EEC?

3. Why did the British have mixed feelings about joining Europe?

4. What are the advantages of being a member of the EU for Britain?