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Unlock This CourseBy the early 1960s disabled people in Britain had some help. The Disabled Persons (Employment) Act (1944) had set a quota of disabled workers for larger employers, and the National Health Service gave free medical care. But much of daily life was still hard. Many public buildings had steps and no ramps. Help at home depended on where you lived and on charities. Many disabled children were treated differently from other children at school. This lesson looks at two steps in the 1970s that tried to change this. Both are part of the story of changing attitudes and opportunities for disabled people, and of the role of government in changing them.
Key terms:
The Act began as a private member's bill. It was put forward by Alf Morris, a Labour MP, and it became law in 1970 under Harold Wilson's Labour government. It was one of the first laws in Britain to say that disabled people had a right to help, rather than having to rely on charity. Its main points were:
Local authorities had to find out how many disabled people lived in their area and tell them what help was on offer. They had to provide services such as home helps, meals, help with adapting a home, a telephone, holidays and transport.
New public buildings, such as shops, offices and public toilets, had to make reasonable provision for disabled people to get in and use them. A parking badge scheme helped disabled drivers park closer to where they needed to go.
Morris's work did not stop there. In 1974 he was made Britain's first minister for disabled people, which showed that government now treated disability as a national responsibility.
The Act was significant because it moved the responsibility. Before, most national help was about work and health care, and council help was patchy and optional. Now councils had a legal duty to find out who needed help and to provide services, and access to buildings became something the law mentioned. It also made the needs of disabled people visible, because councils had to count them.
But it had limits. The rules on buildings said access only had to be provided where this was practicable and reasonable, which gave builders and owners ways out. The Act did not come with enough money, so councils in poorer areas often provided much less than those in richer areas. Disabled people could still find themselves unable to use many buses, shops and schools.
Until 1971, children with the most severe learning difficulties were counted as unsuitable for education at school. They were looked after by health authorities in training centres, not by education authorities. The Education (Handicapped Children) Act (1970) changed this. From 1971 every child was the responsibility of the local education authority, so all children had a right to schooling.
Most other children with disabilities were placed in separate special schools, grouped by labels such as "educationally subnormal" or "maladjusted". These labels were criticised for being unkind and for putting children in boxes.
The government announced a committee in 1973 to look at the education of disabled children and young people. It was led by Mary Warnock, a philosopher and educator, and it began work in 1974. It published its report in 1978. Its main ideas were:
The report led to the Education Act (1981). Local authorities had to assess children with serious needs and write a "statement" of the help each child should get. The Act also said children should be taught in ordinary schools where this was possible. It came into effect in 1983.
The report was significant because it changed the way people spoke and thought about disability in education. "Special educational needs" replaced the old labels, and parents gained a say. More disabled children began to attend ordinary schools.
However, the 1981 Act said mainstream teaching should happen only if it fitted with the education of other children and the efficient use of money. Schools often lacked staff, training and equipment. Special schools continued, and the amount of help depended on the local authority.
What changed: disabled people's needs became a legal duty for councils, public buildings had to think about access, and all children were brought into the school system, with their needs judged one at a time.
What stayed the same: help still varied from place to place, laws were weakened by phrases such as "where practicable", and disabled people still had to rely on others to deliver their rights. A law against discrimination was still to come.
This is a Paper 2, Section B type (a) question. Explain two ways, and for each one say something about both sides of the comparison. One way alone can score at most 3 of the 6 marks.
Explain TWO ways in which the help given to disabled people by the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act (1970) was different from the help given by the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act (1944). [6 marks]
Reminder: the 1944 Act set a quota of disabled workers for employers with 20 or more staff.
One difference is the area of life. The 1944 Act was about work: it required employers with 20 or more workers to take on a quota of registered disabled people. The 1970 Act was about everyday life, as it made councils provide help such as meals, home adaptations, telephones and transport, and it set rules on access to public buildings.
A second difference is who had the legal duty. Under the 1944 Act the duty fell on employers, who had to fill the quota. Under the 1970 Act the duty fell on local authorities, which had to find out how many disabled people lived in their area and provide services for them.
What lifts it to the top level: each way is a direct comparison with a precise fact about both Acts.
Use the words "whereas" or "in contrast" in each paragraph, so that the examiner can see that you have written about both Acts, not just one.