Britain Transformed, 1918-79 Acts
Government Labour
Conservative
National Government
Act Detail
1918 Education - Granted significant responsibilities to educational
Act authorities, providing them with funding
- Recommended school leaving age of 14
- County colleges to provide vocational training for
school leavers up to the age of 18, but this didn’t
always happen because of cost
- Divided curriculum between ‘practical instruction’ for
less able children and ‘advanced construction’ for
brighter children
- Centralised school financing
- Improved school teachers’ salaries and pensions
- Government hoped it would improve school standards
1920 Alien Orders - Required all migrant workers to register with the police
Act before seeking employment
- Failure to comply could result in deportation
1921 Geddes Axe - £87 million worth of cuts
- Welfare and housing reduced by £20 million in 1922-23
1924 Housing Act - Allowed central government to provide subsidies to
build public housing
- Created employment in the depressed construction
industry
- Provided homes at affordable rates for low-income
families
- 521,000 homes built by 1933
1925 Special - Forced coloured seamen to prove their British
Restrictions Act citizenship to immigration authorities or face
deportation
- Assumed coloured seamen were non-British unless they
could prove their status as citizens
1927 - Ensured 7.5% of films shown were British
Cinematograph - Rose to 20% in 1935
Films Act
1930 Housing Act - Obliged local councils to clear all slum housing and
provided subsidies to re-house inhabitants
- Cleared 750,000 slum houses, replacing them with
modern homes by 1939
1930 Coal Mines - Attempted to ensure better pay for workers and more
Act efficient pits
- Mine owners could ignore it, limiting its success
1932 Import - 10% tariffs on most imports
Duties Act
1934 - Introduced means test for those whose unemployment
Unemployment insurance had run out
Act - Benefits only lasted 15 weeks a year
1934 Special - Introduced grants to stimulate growth in depressed
Areas Act areas
Government Labour
Conservative
National Government
Act Detail
1918 Education - Granted significant responsibilities to educational
Act authorities, providing them with funding
- Recommended school leaving age of 14
- County colleges to provide vocational training for
school leavers up to the age of 18, but this didn’t
always happen because of cost
- Divided curriculum between ‘practical instruction’ for
less able children and ‘advanced construction’ for
brighter children
- Centralised school financing
- Improved school teachers’ salaries and pensions
- Government hoped it would improve school standards
1920 Alien Orders - Required all migrant workers to register with the police
Act before seeking employment
- Failure to comply could result in deportation
1921 Geddes Axe - £87 million worth of cuts
- Welfare and housing reduced by £20 million in 1922-23
1924 Housing Act - Allowed central government to provide subsidies to
build public housing
- Created employment in the depressed construction
industry
- Provided homes at affordable rates for low-income
families
- 521,000 homes built by 1933
1925 Special - Forced coloured seamen to prove their British
Restrictions Act citizenship to immigration authorities or face
deportation
- Assumed coloured seamen were non-British unless they
could prove their status as citizens
1927 - Ensured 7.5% of films shown were British
Cinematograph - Rose to 20% in 1935
Films Act
1930 Housing Act - Obliged local councils to clear all slum housing and
provided subsidies to re-house inhabitants
- Cleared 750,000 slum houses, replacing them with
modern homes by 1939
1930 Coal Mines - Attempted to ensure better pay for workers and more
Act efficient pits
- Mine owners could ignore it, limiting its success
1932 Import - 10% tariffs on most imports
Duties Act
1934 - Introduced means test for those whose unemployment
Unemployment insurance had run out
Act - Benefits only lasted 15 weeks a year
1934 Special - Introduced grants to stimulate growth in depressed
Areas Act areas
