The Grey River Argus MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1945. NEW SOCIAL SERVICE IN BRITAIN

Grey River Argus, 19 February 1945, Page 4

The Grey River Argus MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1945. NEW SOCIAL SERVICE IN BRITAIN

The principle of assisting families, alike* as an encouragement in raising them, ami as a necessity of capitalistic industrialism, is gaining gradual recognition, the latest illustration being last week’s legislation in Britain for the payment by the State of live shillings weekly for each child, after the first, up to the end of its sixteenth year. It is significant that, of the 2,600,000 families members of 'which will be entitled to the allowance, one out of every three children will as Hie eldest in its family be excluded. The 5 ’ average number in these familities is therefore less than three, although that average is actually more than three times as great as the average of children per married couple in Britain, which is less than one. Presumably the lesson of the war as to the urgency of arresting population decline, ere ii brings decrease, has with the owning class acted as a spur towards this legislation quite as much, as a recognition of the wisdom of improving the environment of working class children. Allowing that the weekly disbursement will be about £2,500,000, or about £130,000.000 per annum, including costs of administration, it may still be expected that the return for the nation will be one as well worth the outlay as any other on social service. Social services are dependent on the maintenance of the population level. In Britain’s case this is well exemplified when the growth of..social service costs is borne m mind. p, e fore the last war they totalled annually sixtythree millions, whereas before the present war they had increased over eight-told to £531,000,000

That amount represents the present budget cost, but since those figures were given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the House ( of Commons has contemplated an outlay of £132,000,000 a year on national health, and £80,000,000 on education, and about £690,000,000 on social insurance, although this latter item covers some of the existing services, bringing the extra insurance figures down to £450,000,000. Under the heading of industrial accidents, the costs will be about £25,000.000 yearly. There also is to be four shillings weekly more unemployment pay, while the Pensions Minister recently stated in the Commons that taxation for pensions was £80,000,000. which cost the Avar is likely to duplicate,! making it £160,000,000. Meantime the British national debt, which before the last Avar was £661,000,000', was last year £20,000,000,000. For this burden of debt, the Treasury is responsible, bill that means actually the taxpayer, and in Britain, as in many another country, the taxpayer today is largely the working man or woman, in the case of Britain for instance, with forty-five million people, overseas investments, have mostly ceased to exist, so that home production must take their place, and afford the materials for export, whereas compared Avith 25 years ago, when the trade surplus Avas £200,000,000 per annum. there was prior to this Avar an annual adverse trade balance of £52,000,000. Notable export declines have been in ships, textiles and coal. Ono reason, no doubt, is that increased taxation for social and other services has somewhat augmented the costs of production, and another is that the country has put too many eggs into (he basket of industrialism, becoming thereby unduly dependent for food upon overseas sources. However, there is another side to the picture. The expenditure to-day on social services is necessarily higher on account of the depreciation of the currency. The pound sterling, though exchanging at three for four of our pounds, is worth now but 71 per cent, of what it Avas worth in 1940. or 14s 2d. Thus the recipients of pensions. allowances and relief to-day. if they require as much sustenance hs they obtained four years ago for £1 must find say £l. 7s to pay for it. Regarded in that light, the £20,000 million debt, and the anticipated outlay of £1,000,000.000 a year for rehousing and rebuilding devastated areas, is so much more than it would be had inflation not gone already quite a long way. Five shillings weekly per child is -thus but a small allowance, a mere bagatelle compared with what has so readily been found for the purposes of warfare. But the inflationary trend remains to be recognised, Wages may appear better in terms of currency, but measured by cost of goods and services they are low enough. The .British legislation for family allowances is designed to be reciprocal with some other British countries, including New Zealand, so that, despite prospective economic difficulties, this new departure evidently is calculated to endure.