Forming the concept of family allowances in interwar Britain : social survey, campaign, and policy design

Abstract

Much importance has been attributed to the role played by Eleanor Rathbone in the formation of Britain's family allowances system during the interwar period. The campaign for family allowances took place with Rathbone as a leader of voluntary groups. This article, however, pays attention not only to Rathbone but also to two other prominent figures, Seebohm Rowntree and William Beveridge, all of whom participated in the making of the concept of family allowances. The author's question is straightforward. What made Rathbone hit on the idea for family allowances? And how was her idea able to influence policy-makers? The paper shows (1) that Rathbone realised the significance of family life-cycle aspects of the poverty problem by looking at Rowntree's first social survey of the poor in York; (2) that the thrust of arguments by campaign groups, such as the Children's Minimum Council, was eventually accepted by government bodies, i.e., the Unemployment Assistance Board and the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Committee; and (3) that Rowntree's second survey influenced Beveridge, who recognized the need for the 'universal' implementation of children's allowances. In other words, the three took on separate but mutually complementary roles in the entire process: Rowntree as a survey taker, Rathbone as a campaigner, and Beveridge as a policy designer.