Poverty, Politics and Policy: Britain in the 1960s PDF
Preview Poverty, Politics and Policy: Britain in the 1960s
POVERTY, POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES IN POLICY-MAKING General Editor: Anthony King, Professor of Government, University of Essex Most books on British politics are concerned with political institutions-with the cabinet, Parliament, the political parties and so on. This new series of books approaches the same subject-matter from a different point of view. It is concerned not with institutions but with processes-with how laws, policies and decisions are formulated and implemented. It is hoped that the books in the series will, among other things, make it clearer how the institutions themselves actually function. All of the books in the series are addressed to the general reader, to academic students ofp olitics and also to specialists in the fields with which the books deal-suchfields as industrial relations, the nationalised industries, health and housing. Already published The Politics of Industrial Relations Michael Moran The Politics of Steel Keith Ovenden POVERTY, POLITICS AND POLICY Britain in the g6os 1 Keith G. Banting University rif British Columbia, Vancouver © Keith G. Banting 1979 Soft cover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1979 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission First published 1979 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New York Singapore Tokyo British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Banting, Keith G Poverty, politics and policy-(Studies in policy making) 1. Great Britain-Social policy 2. Great Britain Social conditions- 1945- l. Title II. Series 300'.941 HN390 ISBN 978-1-349-03612-7 ISBN 978-1-349-03610-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-03610-3 This book is sold subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement For Marilyn Contents Acknowledgements IX 1 Explaining Social Policy 1 2 Rents, Rachman and Regulation 14 3 Family Poverty 66 4 Poverty and Educational Priority 109 5 The Social Policy Process 139 Notes and References 157 Index !83 Vll Acknowledgements Research into British policy-making inevitably involves an element of detective work, and my debts to those who helped shed light on this secret world are enormous. Dozens of politicians, civil servants, outside advisers, and interest-group leaders patiently endured my questioning and gen erously shared their knowledge of the social policy process. Although they must remain anonymous, their insights pervade the pages that follow. In addition, a number of politicians and outside advisers opened up their own papers and documents to me. In this regard, special thanks are due to' the late Richard Crossman, who, at an early stage of the research, provided full access to the unedited transcripts of his remarkable diary for the entire period from the mid-1950s until 1970. But for such acts of unofficial openness, this book could not have been written. This study was first prepared as a D. Phil. thesis for Oxford University, and warm thanks are due to the Warden and Fellows ofNuffield College for providing me with an intellectual home during my years in Britain. In particular, Nevil Johnson and Jim Sharpe constantly encouraged my efforts and commented perceptively on my endless drafts. The transition from thesis to book was greatly aided by Anthony King, without whose guidance the final product would have been immeasurably poorer. I have also benefited along the way from the suggestions of Brian Barry, D. N. Chester, S. E. Finer, A. H. Halsey and my colleagues Cynthia Brand, Peter Busch, George Feaver and W.J. Stankiewicz. The publisher and I wish to thank the following who have kindly given permission for the use of copyright material: George Allen and Unwin (Publishers) Ltd for a diagram from Resources for Education (1968) by J. Vaizey and J. Sheehan; Cambridge University Press, New York, for a table in Journal of Social Poliry, Vol. 1, 1972; The Child Poverty Action Group for a table in 'Family Poverty' a CPAG Memorandum; The Controller ofHer Majesty's Stationery Office for tables from the Report of the Committee on the Rent Acts, Cmnd 45of;; General Problems of Low Pay, Cmnd 4648; and Report No. 1-Initial Report on the Standing Reference, Cmnd 6171; Lloyds Bank Ltd for a table from Lloyds Bank Review No. 83,January 1967; New Science Publications for a table from 'Education and Opinion' by David Donnison, in New Sociery, 26 October 1967; and Social Surveys (Gallup Poll) Ltd for two tables. Unpublished material from the Crossman diaries is quoted by permission of the literary executors and is copyright© The Estate of R.H.S. Crossman. The Commonwealth Scholarship programme and the Canada Council ix X Acknowledgements generously contributed the financial assistance that made the original research possible. My largest debt, however, is to my wife and family, whose help and encouragement sustained me throughout. August 1978 K.B. Explaining Social Policy 1 More than ever before, the lives of citizens depend on the social policies of government. Western nations have constructed a vast edifice of pro grammes designed to alter existing patterns of social life. What men can achieve, both as individuals and as groups, is shaped by the responsiveness of government to their needs and desires. Their health, education, housing and general life chances lie heavily in the hands of the state. For many of the poor and vulnerable, state action may represent the only possibility of substantial progress. Social policies today consume close to half of public expenditure in nations such as Britain, and their management consumes a similar share of the efforts of public leaders. A steady stream of decisions flows from cabinets, parliaments, public services and courts, shaping and reshaping the complex structure known as 'the welfare state'. This study seeks to unravel the political forces that generate changes, and particularly innovations, in social policy in Britain. In particular, it examines the re-emergence of poverty as a political issue during the 1g6os and the way in which the government responded to it. The rediscovery of poverty in Britain, the United States and other nations in the 1g6os represented a fundamental shift in the ways in which such societies conceived of themselves. During the 1950s public attention focused on the twin forces of affluence and the welfare state; poverty had been eliminated and inequality was steadily declining-or so it was assumed. Partisans of both the left and right described the reforms of the 1940s as a social revolution. The welfare state seemed a permanent solution to the problem of social justice, and political argument centred less on principles than on details. Contemporary observers recorded the triumph of the politics of prosperity and the decline of social protest; and the 'end of ideology' became a fashionable subject of academic speculation. But in the late 1950s another interpretation of British society began to gain ground and, in the 1g6os, came to dominate social debate. Poverty and inequality were reinstated as central features of British society. Political conflict over the ends of social policy reasserted itself, and changes in policy began to occur. Income transfers, social services, education, housing, tax policy-all felt the weight of the poverty question. The rediscovery of poverty posed problems for those dedicated to social reform. Economic growth alone was clearly not dissolving the inequalities of British society. Yet the prospects for reform through politics were uncertain at best. The growing affluence of the work force seemed to 1
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