The Beveridge Report: Founding Principles of the Welfare State

This essay provides an analysis of the Beveridge Report, a pivotal document published in 1942 that outlined the principles for a welfare state in post-World War II Britain. The report aimed to address the 'five evil giants' of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness through comprehensive social reforms, including universal social security, healthcare, and education. The essay explores the report's key recommendations, such as full employment and state responsibility for citizen welfare, and examines the legislative measures enacted in its wake, including the National Health Service Act. Furthermore, the essay offers a critical comparison of the Beveridge Report's principles with contemporary welfare structures, considering changes in ideology and addressing shortcomings, such as gender divisions and the failure to fully eradicate poverty. It concludes by emphasizing the enduring influence of the Beveridge Report on social policy and highlighting the need for future welfare reforms to address current challenges like income inequality and the evolving needs of society.

INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIAL POLICY

Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
The Beveridge Report was the charter published in December 1942 by William
Beveridge which was officially called as Social Insurance and Allied Services, but with the
change of time it was popularly known as The Beveridge Report. The principle objectives of this
report were to bring and adopt certain changes by bringing an entire state and its citizen for the
common good. The report was aimed to initiate reforms considering the world's order at that
point of time and essential reforms were needed to set things right and improve the living
standards of people by reforming policies. Recommendations were made to the government in
this report in the form of objective resolutions that suggests the redevelopment of social services
including health in the society must be given with the focus on providing employment to people
under the legal framework (Grave 2022). The role of state was made more broadened and it was
proposed that the state should ensure social and financial security to its people. No person shall
be deprived of basic necessities. This report highlighted the five evil giants which needs to be
discarded from the society, they are Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. These
were the prime issues which prevailing in the society. Nevertheless, the government was too
concern about these social issues and they initiated a social programme by bringing new reforms
and changes in the society. In this essay all the relevant extract pertaining to Beveridge report
along with its founding principles of the welfare state and a comparison will be made with the
present welfare structure by considering the change in ideology along with relevant examples.
MAIN BODY
The founding principles of The Beveridge Report was to make a welfare state, wherein
the state is bound with certain responsibility and show commitment towards its people with the
view to provide social and economic security to its people by the virtue of their natural human
rights. Even the term Welfare State was first used during the world war two in United Kingdom.
The aftermath of world war two was deadly and the tyranny it left after war was inhuman, people
left in poverty and to cover all these issues comprehensively relating to poverty, death,
unemployment reforms were needed and through this report a plan of action was set to bring
social reform across the western Europe (Thane 2020).
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The main characteristic of Beveridge report was to promote socialism, ensure social
security, the state was empowered to command economic activities, provide basic necessities to
citizens, initiate and promote enterprises and ensure justice.
The other important principle was to provide employment which was initiated as full male
employment and allowances to families who are poor and deprived of basic facilities. This was a
commitment for the state to ensure that a man should be fully employed so that they provide to
their family and elevate their poor status.
The government was not fully intending to show any direct intention to implement this
report, but they reserved the decision by announcing that they shall consider to bring
recommended changes give in the Beveridge report by putting it before parliament. However,
there was no particular commitment was shown by the government at that time because the
report as tumbling alongside with the war and the nation has already sacrificed many much and
was not in state of bringing bloodless revolution at that point of time and situation (Bette, 2018).
Many legislative measures were being made of the post-war like, Family Allowance, National
Insurance Act, Education Act National Health Service Act 1948, New Towns Act, Housing
Act, Children Act and many more. All this legislation was derived from the founding principle
of the Beveridge report which gave opportunities for redevelopment by initiating comprehensive
plans for benefits, especially to deal with unemployment.
Besides much more, the Beveridge policy did not completely discard the poverty, as there was a
rise in unemployment which was doubled in the year between 1979 and 1981, the recession
period in 1990 which badly hit the middle-class section. Thus, the report could not have seen that
how much pressure would it endure on its underlying principles of change.
The key principles which are enshrined in the Beveridge report in respect of welfare state are
income protection, health and education, insurance and public support and it was assumed that if
employability rate is kept high and running the social and economic change can be attainable but
this aim and target put the welfare state under a great pressure.
Thus, the Beveridge Report of 1942, was the blueprint which was designed for social
change during the post war Britain. It is titled as ' Social Insurance and Allied Services' which
has laid down the idea of providing remedy and eradicate social inequality from the society. The
vision and intention of this report was to counter the five evil giants that are, Idleness, want,
ignorance, squalor and disease. These social programmes based on the principles of equality,
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equal distribution of wealth and resource and public support, especially to elevate those who are
deprived of basic necessities and give them an opportunity to live with dignity.
Almost it has been eighty years when William Beveridge was authorized to publish the
report in a manner which gives the ideology to rebuilt the Britain after having a huge loss in
period of Second World War. There are some weaknesses in the report of Beveridge which has
to be taken into report and changes have to be made according to the current situations. Like in
1942, Social Insurance and Allied Services became the blueprint for social policy of Britain in
the period of post war (Heath and et.al 2018). The Beveridge report was endorsed by the labour
party and the initial approach was taken by the Weston Churchill that at the midst of the war
such recommendations will not be considered but with the change of time many legislations
enacted, for instance, the labour government made efforts and successfully constituted a National
Health Service along with another new legislation to establish Beveridge social insurance
scheme which was approved in the year 1946. Similarly, the subsequent government have taken
measure to centralised all the social policies which administrator at local level were. However,
the Beveridge report was not clear according to the time and it’s not mature enough to make
things clear as got expressed in the gender divisions that sustain many policy recommendations
for example; full employment of male and the family allowances for the dependant woman and
children especially in heterosexual families. At first instance the report suggests full employment
to male but not women, but with the change of time and wisdom the women were also given
rights and freedoms to contribute in the development of state. The report also wouldn't consider
the barriers to the level of good employment which has been experienced by the people
(Webster, 2020). There is another weakness in a report as per the welfare that there was a flat-
rate character of benefits which failed to protect the recipients from poverty. There was an
anticipated means-tested character of the benefits system which was used to meet the welfare
demands of the middle class but it was not enough due to which it got disapproval by welfare
acquirer. Disregard to these shortcomings the Beveridge Report introduces the National
Insurance and Assistance schemes after the World War which has the great influences on many
other countries (Hale 2018). There are mainly two issues which has to get cover in new
Beveridge Report which are; who should get involve in designing a new blueprint and what will
be the country welfare future looks like. Considering the present status and if compare with
earlier Beveridge Report it is evident enough to acknowledge that social and economic structure
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of the United Kingdom is far better than previous time. As there are several legislations and
statutes which are enforced in accordance with the Beveridge principles (Vivekanandan2022).
The role of government played crucial role in developing the social and economic structure along
with the support of people. The things need to get consider that a commission who becomes the
representatives of whole State which consist of wide range of expertise which gives their ideas
on welfare of the State for the future. It is indeed important to determine the areas of people
desire and what the people can put things into risk for building the future welfare state. It’s not
easy to bring such changes in the report for that people have to present their thoughts, the white
male breadwinner and female caregiver model is not sufficient to fulfil the different needs and
requests of the current society. Such kind of issues have to be raise on new Beveridge Report, the
new report has to cover voices of different peoples such as disabled, community’s members of
LGBT which secure the development of policies that provide benefits to everyone.
The primary problem in the existing social security system is means tested and precisely in
“mean” character. There was another challenge made in the field of labour market in regard to
high income inequality, the ratio of poverty despite campaigns for a national living wage and
also in the security of employment which also includes the concepts of zero hours. These are the
problems which existed before the pandemic and the lacking in competent social protection
widely spread the insecurity caused by the impact of lockdown on economic (Adcock 2018). In a
recent survey it has been cleared that most of the population in UK point out the income
distribution unfair and they have a desire to see more progress welfare in a society. It is critical
that new Beveridge Report united the better need for care in regard to both i.e. for childcare and
social care. There is not only unequal distribution of money but also there is an importance of
time which need to be considered (Harris, 2018). The situation of pandemic provided an
opportunity to think about the values and priorities in regards of works, family and ease. More
importance is given in the reports to provide more time rather than money for families for their
wellbeing and other aspects which give benefits to them. Lacking in balance the life has
identifies the outcomes for workers mental health which hold more importance for the society.
Lacking of time is also the reason in understanding the health choices or the environmental
choices, to improve this it is required to think about the future sustainability of welfare and
employment and it will be get done through shifting low skill, low pay growth.
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Conclusion
From the above relevant extract, it can be concluded that the Beveridge Report was an
initiative to brings social and economic change in the post-World War II in Britain. In this report,
recommendation was made to establish the state welfare schemes by enacting several legislations
to ensure social security to its citizens. The essay further highlighted five evil giants namely;
Want, Diseases, Ignorance, Squalor and idleness that needs to be eradicate from the society. It
also covers the comparison of Beveridge Report principles from later approaches of welfare
along with relevant examples and legislation.
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REFERENCES
BOOKS AND JOURNALS
Adcock, P., 2018. The development of the British welfare state. In Comparing the Social Policy
Experience of Britain and Taiwan (pp. 13-26). Routledge.
Grave, B., 2022. Historical development of welfare states: people and ideas. In Rethinking
Welfare and the Welfare State (pp. 11-23). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hale, B., 2018. Social justice and human rights. In Handbook on Global Social Justice (pp. 241-
249). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Heath, Alfano et.al., 2018. Social progress in Britain. Oxford University Press.
Thane, P., 2020. The Origins of the British Welfare State. Journal of Interdisciplinary
History, 50(3), pp.427-433.
Vivekananda, B., 2022. The Perspective. In the Welfare State System and Common
Webster, C., 2020. Medicine and the welfare state 1930–1970. In Medicine in the Twentieth
Century (pp. 125-140). Taylor & Francis.
Harris, J., 2018. Some aspects of social policy in Britain during the Second World War. In the
Emergence of the Welfare State in Britain and Germany 1850–1950 (pp. 247-262).
Routledge.
Security (pp. 1-33). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
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