National Assistance was the main

means-tested benefit A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

in the United Kingdom from 1948 to 1966. It was established by the

National Assistance Act 1948 The National Assistance Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee. It formally abolished the Poor Law system that had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social s ...

and abolished by the

Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 The Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 was a piece of legislation passed by the United Kingdom Parliament to establish the Supplementary Benefits Scheme whereby the National Assistance Board was transformed into the Supplementary Benefit Board. ...

, which established the

Supplementary Benefit Supplementary Benefit was a means-tested benefit in the United Kingdom, paid to people on low incomes, whether or not they were classed as unemployed, such as pensioners, the sick and single parents. Introduced in November 1966, it replaced the ear ...

in its place. It replaced earlier provisions under the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. The

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

of 1942 proposed a system of contributory benefits which would leave only a residual role for means-tested benefits. "Assistance will be available to meet all needs which are not covered by insurance. It must meet those needs adequately up to subsistence level, but it must be felt to be something less desirable than insurance benefit; otherwise the insured persons get nothing for their contributions." The

National Assistance Board The National Assistance Board was established by the National Assistance Act 1948 and abolished in by the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966. It was preceded by the Unemployment Assistance Board (known from 1941 as the Assistance Board) and suc ...

was established to direct the scheme, taking over from the

Unemployment Assistance Board The Unemployment Assistance Board was a body created in Britain by the Unemployment Act 1934 due to the high levels of inter-war poverty in Britain. The Board kept a system of means-tested benefit A means test is a determination of whether an in ...

. There were close similarities between the National Assistance regulations of 1948 and the pre-war

Unemployment Assistance Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

regulations, and many of the same officials were involved. A key difference was that the Means Test no longer extended to the earnings of sons and daughters. During the 1950s, inflation meant that national insurance benefits fell below the official poverty line, and increasing numbers turned to national assistance.

References

External links

{{UK benefits Social security in the United Kingdom 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom 1966 disestablishments in the United Kingdom