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MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
HOME INTELLIGENCE SPECIAL REPORT
THE PRESENT STATE OF FEELING ON THE SUBJECT OF THE BEVERIDGE REPORT AND THE GOVERNMENT'S FORTHCOMING PROPOSALS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
SECRET

21st APRIL, 1944 .

This summary is based on reports from all Regions except Northern Ireland. Intelligence Officers were asked particularly for details of the public expectations, hopes and fears in connection with:

1. The Beveridge proposals as a whole.

2. The rates of benefit. Are people thinking of definite figures or of figures related to cost of living? Have they any definite figures in mind?

3. The future of industrial insurance and the approved societies.

4. The date of starting any scheme which may be introduced.

The enquiry was limited by time and by the need for a confidential approach to contacts and the avoidance of direct questions. The results, except under the first general heading, are extremely meagre: they may be summarised as follows:

1. The Beveridge proposals as a whole

A. Are people talking about them ?

The proposals are little mentioned by the public at the present time, though they continue to be discussed by those specially interested in social reforms and postwar reconstruction, and by discussion groups.

The scheme is not forgotten, however, and a general underlying interest in it continues, though the details have largely faded from people's minds.

Reasons given to account for the present absence of general discussion are:

B. What is the public's attitude to the Beveridge proposals ?

The public as a whole appears to be as strongly in favour of the Beveridge Plan - or a scheme on similar lines - as they were when it first appeared. The working and poorer classes especially look on it as capable of “turning the country into a paradise”.

Nevertheless, people seem to be very hazy as to its provisions; to the majority it simply means security and greater benefits in times of need.

Objection to the scheme comes, as before, from a minority who wonder who is to pay for it all and whether the country can afford it. Some middle and upper-class people, in particular, object to “having to foot the bill to provide for those who are too idle to provide for themselves”. Other objections come from those, especially older people, who think it will kill initiative and enterprise, and from employers who fear the reduced incentive to work which may result from the scheme.

C. What does the public think is the Government's attitude to the proposals ?

There is widespread suspicion of the Government's attitude to the Beveridge Plan. A great many, perhaps the majority, are convinced that it will be either shelved, mutilated or whittled away, or else an inferior substitute put forward instead. It is frequently referred to as “the carrot in front of the donkey to keep us going during the war”. It is not understood why the Government should get Beveridge to compile such a comprehensive report and then hold it up.

The Government's claim to be able to improve on Beveridge (The Minister of Health, February 26) is regarded cynically by those who mention it: “Let's have the report first; improve on it afterwards”.

A number of people regard the National Health Service Scheme as a substitute for the Beveridge Plan; workers in particular saying that it is a way of fobbing them off with an inferior Beveridge Plan.

A minority, however, are hopeful that the Government will either implement the Beveridge proposals, or come out with a social security scheme of their own in due course.

2. The rates of benefit

The rates of benefit are little discussed and rarely in any detail. The present rates are regarded as inadequate and there is strong objection to any Means Test.

People do not seem to be thinking in terms of specific figures. Isolated - and somewhat contradictory - comments of this kind only are mentioned, e.g. workers wanting benefits to be at least three quarters of their present wage; future benefits should be double the present figure; benefits should be inclusive, covering health, unemployment, and a pension of £2 a week for man and wife, with some allowance for general expenses.

Among the few who make spontaneous comment, opinion is divided as to whether benefits should relate to the cost of living, or should be fixed. Those in favour of fixing a constant amount feel that the cost of living figures are rather artificial and illusory; and that if the worst came to the worst, pressure could always be brought to bear on the Government to raise the fixed amount.

Some objection is reported that a weekly contribution of 4/- (which some people have in mind as a premium) is too high. As it is, many working people grumble at the deductions from their pay. It is even suggested, in one report, that there may be a demand for increased wages to cover the outgoings, “if and when the Beveridge Plan is put into execution”.

3. The future of industrial insurance and the Approved societies

This is also little discussed. Many workers believe that these societies, and in particular the Prudential Assurance Co., are “the powerful interests which are preventing the Government from passing the scheme”.

What evidence there is suggests that the public would like to see the disappearance of the Prudential and other large Assurance Companies, their functions being replaced by state insurance; though reasons for this are not usually given. Some people feel that a reduction in the number of organisations now disbursing relief would be an advantage; there is criticism, too, of the difference in cash and other benefits (dental and medical) given by various Approved Societies. Many feel that a big national scheme would make for uniformity in benefits. There is also some feeling that “the less reputable insurance societies need cleaning up” and that, if a national Beveridge scheme were to supplant them, “unprotected, trustful and exploited people would get a fair deal”. According to the North Western Region report, “the reputations of certain companies (particularly the Prudential) are far from good in this part of the country”.

4. The date for starting any scheme which may be introduced

No definite date is suggested. Many profess to doubt whether a Government social security scheme will ever materialise; or say “only when doctors and insurance companies are assured that it will be a good thing for them as well as the working class”.

Those who do expect a Government scheme variously suggest “when the war in Europe is over”; “immediately the war ends”; or vaguely “sometime after the war”.

On this point, as on all other points of detail, hopes and expectations are vague.

5. Conclusions

The public as a whole wants the Government to implement the Beveridge report, the detailed contents of the report - even the simpler financial details - are not generally known. The report is seen as offering security against unemployment, ill health, and old age; but even more is it seen as a touchstone of the Government's intentions for the postwar world.

It is widely - if not generally - believed that the report has been shelved; or that the public will in due course be offered a watered-down version.

It would appear, therefore, important that if the Government proposals are to be accepted willingly, they should neither deviate, nor appear to deviate, fundamentally, except where they are more generous, from those of the Beveridge Report. Furthermore, the more closely they can be linked with the name Beveridge the more likely are they to be welcomed.