Use this activity as a way of making sense of how governments in the UK have responded to poverty over time. In AQA A Level Sociology, the topic of work, poverty and welfare is not just about learning the names of benefits or policies. It is about understanding the different ways poverty is explained, the kinds of welfare support that exist, and the arguments over whether government policies really reduce poverty or simply manage it. As you work through the timeline, you should look carefully at what each policy, report or sociological viewpoint tells you about the welfare system and the social groups most affected by it.
Start by exploring the timeline cards and using the filters to compare different themes, governments and social impacts. This will help you see important differences between universal benefits and means-tested benefits, between state provision and the mixed economy of welfare, and between approaches linked to New Right or social democratic thinking. You should also pay attention to the cards on gender, families, disability, housing and work, because poverty is not experienced in the same way by everyone. Some policies may appear to reduce poverty for one group while creating new pressures for another.
The activity is also designed to help you build stronger exam skills. The policy cards give you examples you can use in essays, while the research and theory cards help you evaluate those examples sociologically. As you work through it, ask yourself questions such as: Does this policy reduce poverty directly? Is it universal or targeted? Does it support people or place more conditions on them? Which sociologists would support or criticise it? If you use the timeline in this way, it will help you move beyond description and develop the kind of explanation and evaluation needed for high-quality AQA answers.
Work, Poverty and Welfare: UK Government Responses to Poverty
This is a selected timeline of UK poverty and welfare policies for AQA A-level Sociology. It is not exhaustive, so students can still use other relevant policies. This version lets you sort policy responses by government and by likely impact on gender, ethnicity, age, social class / low income and disability.
How students should use this
- Choose a theme filter such as welfare foundations, family support, disability, housing, pensions, employment or recent reforms.
- Use the government filter to compare Labour, Conservative, coalition and Con-Lib coalition policy changes.
- Use the impact filter to focus on gender, ethnicity, age, social class / low income, or disability.
- Open each policy card and identify what changed, who was most affected, and whether the policy was universal, targeted, temporary, restrictive or redistributive.
- Remember that this timeline uses selected examples only. Other valid UK anti-poverty policies could also be used in essays.
What this builds
- AO1: knowledge of major poverty and welfare policies across different governments.
- AO2: application to gender, ethnicity, age, social class and disability.
- AO3: evaluation of whether policy changes reduce poverty, leave gaps in support, or affect groups differently.
Poverty and Welfare Policy Worksheet
This worksheet uses a selected range of UK policies linked to poverty and economic inequality. It is not exhaustive, so other relevant policies could also be used. Tick which groups are most affected by each policy and note what kind of anti-poverty response it represents.
| Year | Policy | Government | Gender | Ethnicity | Age | Social class / low income | Disability | Student notes |
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Mini exam task
Explain one way governments have tried to reduce poverty in the UK. Use at least two selected examples from the timeline and explain which social groups were most affected.
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