Key Proposals of the Beveridge Report and the British Welfare State

British Welfare State
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* Key proposals of the Beveridge report (1942) with reference to key influences and political ideologies.
In December 1942, William Beveridge identified five giant evils that plagued the British society: want, ignorance, idleness, squalor, and disease. These evil giants influenced Beveridge to propose a social security plan. According to William, social security plan would cover the majority of social ills. It would be easier to reduce ills based on a contributory method while not damaging people’s sense of personal responsibility and independence (Sir William Beveridge Foundation, 2020). All the benefits gained from the social insurance would then be used to pay the unemployed, retired, sick, and widowed. Beveridge did not intend to have a nanny state in place, but he instead emphasized the need to have a system to help people in need. It was necessary to set the benefits at the minimum to make it possible for individuals to still provide for themselves.
Beveridge argued further that it was crucial to have full employment even with social insurance and allied services in place, as this was a critical part of his proposed welfare plan. Beveridge’s major proposal was adopted in 1946, and it became compulsory for workers except married women to contribute to the national insurance (Levy & Peart, 2021). As a result, British workers received uninterrupted earnings, money for old age was set aside, and compensation became possible in the event of death or injury, just as proposed by Beveridge. Ideally, Beveridge’s social insurance policies became a comprehensive policy of social progress as more advancements were made, including establishing a national assistance board in 1948 where benefits were structured to cover those not insured.
* Explain the core values underpinning the post war British welfare state implemented by post war governments.
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