Social insurance.

Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Social insurance. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    93 (ii) the raising of the rates of insurance benefit during unemployment and sickness (including the introduction of wives’ allowances not previously granted in the latter) and the expansion of maternity benefits; (iii) the introduction of universal family allowances, as compared with the allowances for children and orphans now included in unemployment benefits and widows’ pensions; and (iv) the enlargement of the existing national health insurance tnedical service and the health services provided by local authorities into a compre- hensive national health service covering the whole population. 27. As compared with the initial cost of the plan proposed in the Beveridge Report, viz., £697 millions for 1945, the proposals show a saving of £47 millions. This is due mainly to (i) the omission of industrial disability benefits (including administration), which are to be dealt with separately ({17 millions); (ii) the allowance for non-emergence of the full cost of the health service at the outset (£22 millions); (ili) a net saving on family allowances (about £40 millions); and (iv) a net reduction in the cost of unemployment and sickness benefits and related assistance (about £10 millions); against which must be set (v) the extra cost of enlarged retirement pensions and widows’ benefits (about £45 millions including £8 millions for the effect of the new scale of supplementary pensions introduced subsequent to the submission of the Beveridge Report). Cost TO THE EXCHEQUER 28. The income available to meet the cost of the proposed schemes consists of the receipts from the contributions payable by persons (and their employers) insured in Classes I, II and IV, together with interest from the existing social insurance funds, assuming these to be retained as a reserve for the benefit of the new scheme; the balance of expenditure has to be met from general taxation or from local rates. In Table VI which follows I have summarised the estimated expenditure as shown in Table IV and the income from each source in the form of a budget covering the social insurance scheme and allied services : — _ Table Vi—Social Insurance and Allied Services Budget: 1945-1975 (in £ millions) eee 1955 1965 1975 Estimated Expenditure Social insurance benefits ... ee aaa aes 378 428 500 542 National assistance... ar ne stele Sie 69 73 70 67 Family allowances... nae es — vee | 59 60 56 52 Health service ee Pas es 04 sgt ee: 170 170 170 Total expenditure =i Soke ses Bere mot 796 831 Estimated Income Receipts from contributions of insured persons 283 280 275 259 and employers.* Interest on existing funds.. 15 15 15 Balance of expenditure, to be “met from Ex- 352 | 4 30 506 557 chequer (or local rates). Total income 403 Se ioe cas 650 93% 796 831 * In this table, and throughout the memorandum, receipts from contributions relate to the contributions for social insurance benefits and health service and do not include the contributions for industrial injury insurance; the related expenditure and State grant are similarly omitted.