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The Beveridge Report and the welfare state

Study note

The Beveridge Report of 1942 was a hugely influential plan for improving life in Britain. It was written by William Beveridge, and it identified five great problems, often called the five 'giant evils', that the country needed to overcome. These were want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.

The report set out ideas for tackling these problems, and it became the basis of the modern welfare state, including the National Health Service and the social security system. It was William Beveridge who wrote the report, not Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee or Winston Churchill, although they all played their own parts in building the welfare state. Remember William Beveridge as the author of the 1942 report and the five giant evils it set out to defeat.

Memory tip: Beveridge's five 'giant evils': want, disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness.

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Who wrote the 1942 report that became the basis of the modern welfare state?

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The Beveridge Report and the welfare state: questions, answers and explanations

  1. 1. Who wrote the 1942 report that became the basis of the modern welfare state?

    • Clement Attlee
    • Winston Churchill
    • Aneurin Bevan
    • William Beveridge

    Correct answer: William Beveridge

    William Beveridge wrote the 1942 Beveridge Report on the welfare state.

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