Beveridge Report Sub-committee : agreed statement of conclusions
1943-03-18 1943 1940s 4 pages SUNDERLAND COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE BEVERIDGE REPORT SUB-COMMITTEE. AGREED STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS for circulation A Social Document of such wide range of interest, and containing such masses of material, cannot adequately be dealt with in a short statement. On the...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
|---|---|
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
18 March 1943
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/D8B1F69B-DE8A-453F-9B13-CAB937627446 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/0AAA4C1E-E996-4147-9F50-E64F02BD4FD4 |
| Summary: | 1943-03-18
1943
1940s
4 pages
SUNDERLAND COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE BEVERIDGE REPORT SUB-COMMITTEE. AGREED STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS for circulation A Social Document of such wide range of interest, and containing such masses of material, cannot adequately be dealt with in a short statement. On the other hand, the Report itself is available for study by all who are interested. It can be obtained either unabridged or in a compact and abridged summary, and every citizen who feels a responsibility for the future of Britain should give some time to the study of the proposals therein. It is not proposed to recapitulate the proposals but to indicate some outstanding points of interest, some doubts and some strong recommendations. It is very necessary to establish, at the outset, the belief of this Committee in the principles of Social Security, not as a pious hope but as a pressing immediate necessity. Sir William Beveridge sets out to banish the fear of want, and in paragraph three (Part 1) praises Britain's achievements in the past but warns his readers that we still lag behind other countries in certain very essential services: in paragraph four (Part 1) he challenges the rate of existing sick benefits relative to unemployed benefits: in paragraph thirteen (Part 1) he states the arguments for children's allowances both in unemployment and employment periods; and in paragraph seven (Part 1) he challenges every reader by the claim that "a revolutionary period in the world's history is a time for revolutionary remedies, and not for patchwork." With all these statements we are in agreement, and we desire to record our faith in the following key-points in the plan: points which should, we feel, be given some tangible form at once, as an earnest of sincerity and determination on the part of the Government to tackle the problem vigorously. They are:- 1. Establishment of a Minister of Social Security responsible for all sections of benefits - sick, unemployment, disability and old age, etc. 2. Unification of payment into one contribution, and extension of payments to all adults. 3. Recognition of housewives, not gainfully employed, as an insurable class. 4. Abolition of the 'means test,' and establishment of payments of benefit as a right. 5. Provision of comprehensive medical and surgical treatment. 6. Incorporation of Industrial Insurance within the scheme. Unless those six points are accepted, much of the virtue of the scheme is lost. We feel it important that the aim set out in paragraph eight (Part 1) should be retained at all costs: an attack upon want to be coupled with an attack upon Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness; a national comprehensive charter relieving not only destitution but removing for ever the standard of bare subsistence previously imposed upon the less fortunate. As to the cost, this must be faced as courageously as any other barrier in the way of necessary achievement, and not until every possible method has been tried, can a great nation plead poverty as an excuse for evading responsibility.
292/150.5/5/62 |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | TEXT |