Muriel Ritson (1885–1980) was a career administrator and worked in the civil service. Her most important position was the Scottish representative for the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

on the

Beveridge Committee The Beveridge Report, officially entitled ''Social Insurance and Allied Services'' (Command paper, Cmd. 6404), is a government report, published in November 1942, influential in the founding of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It was draft ...

which was responsible for creating the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Muriel was in born in

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...

to John Fletcher Ritson, a railway agent, and Agnes Jane Catto. She attended

Greenock Academy The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven t ...

and a German finishing school. She always valued having been educated at a co-educational school, and worked to promote women's equality in the workplace. She began working as a social worker and rent collector for the Glasgow Workman's Dwellings Company between 1908 and 1911.

Career

Her work with the GWDC made her familiar with health insurance work. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she served on Public Health Committees and worked social and public health in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. She joined the Commission of Investigation which visited France in connection with the WAAF. In 1919 she was appointed the only woman in the

Scottish Board of Health Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, which consisted of only six people. It administered health policy in Scotland between 1919 and 1928. In 1929 she worked for the new

Department of Health for Scotland Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. She sat on the Committee on the Admission of Women to the Diplomatic and Consular Service. Her most prestigious appointment was with the

representing the Department of Health, which formed the

. In 1936, she was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Legacy

Before her retirement in 1946 she became Scottish Controller of the

Ministry of National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famili ...

. She sat on the Ryan Committee which examined health insurance, and on the Committee on Admission of Women on the Diplomatic and Consular Service. She is remembered for her work in public health, health insurance, and in her promotion of women in public life. Her most important contribution was to the Beveridge Committee, which was instrumental in helping to establish the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritson, Muriel 1885 births 1980 deaths Scottish civil servants Scottish women civil servants National Health Service people People from Gourock Commanders of the Order of the British Empire