what are the five giants britain’s welfare state aimed to tackle
want, disease, ignorance, idleness and squalor
definition of welfare system
a society in which the government is responsible for the provision of the welfare of it’s citizens through providing social security and social services such as healthcare, education, housing and benefits
how much did the NHS cost in 1948 compared to 2015?
£437 million (around £15 billion in today’s money) in 1948 but NHS expenditure was over £113 billion in 2015
3 facts about the NHS
- 84% of patients rated their overall experience 7 out of 10 or higher according to a 2015 Care Quality Commission survey, which theoretically shows, it will led to a healthier population who will thereby be able to produce more for the economy
- Life expectancy is at a record high at 81 years old
- 36 million patients per hour in NHS. Hospital and public sector workers are often overworked and underpaid
What two key things did Wanless conclude in a report produced for the treasury in 2004?
- no alternative method would provide a given quality at a lower cost
- Britain’s low rating ‘healthy living’ in comparison to other countries. Wanless suggests this is down to individual lifestyle choices and that through taxes, regulation and advice, it could provide a framework within which individual behaviour could be influenced away towards a healthier lifestyle
what is the poverty trap?
• people who are often fit for work choosing to live on unemployment benefits rather than get a job because the increase in income is offset by a consequent loss of state benefits, leaving them no better off
4 facts on unemployment and unemployment benefits
- • in 2013 nearly 16% of the population (around 10 million people) were considered to be in poverty
- the poverty rate dropping almost 3% between 2008 and 2013
- the number of out of work benefits has gone down by 1 million since the early 1990’s
- 28% of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance who go on to claim it for more than a year
in 2012 how much did benefit fraud cost the taxpayer? and how much of the welfare budget does this amount to?
£1.2 billion
0.7% - often misinformed by the media
what does marsland believe about the welfare state in the UK.
-overly-generous welfare benefits have created an ‘culture of dependency’ in Britain where people learn to be poor and pass on the experience of being poor to their children.
• He believes the ‘welfare state’ in philosophically impossible
• Normal economic progress has generalised increase in living standards
• the costs of the Welfare State have escalated to a pitch which threatens national bankruptcy. Levels of state expenditure, taxation, and public debt are all grossly excessive.
• Fails to help those who genuinely need support (like the poor)
what does Spicker (2002) suggest about media coverage about benefits fraud?
“exaggeration and constant harping on the theme (of benefits fraud) has done much to poison the atmosphere”
two suggestions giddens has about the welfare state
- New Labour’s reforms were based on the idea that traditional welfare state had been flawed and had created dependency, bureaucracy and fraud.
- the welfare state cannot meet the challenges of globalization, labour market change, family diversity and increasing levels of consumerism
How much do the conservative propose to cut the welfare bill by 2017/18
£16 billion
