1951-1965

National Assistance Amendment Acts and Determination of Needs Regulations.

What: Between 1951-1965, amendment Acts and regulations were used to change the parameters of the National Assistance Act 1948. Changes included uprating benefit levels and providing the Minister for National Insurance with increasing powers to set the level of income to be disregarded when receiving assistance, as well as providing clearer criteria for who was to be considered in need of assistance. 

Why significant: Amendments were made to Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 that increased the scope and responsibility of local authorities to provide services to elderly and disabled people and to contract charitable organisations to provide services on their behalf.