how do birth rate and age influence the current provision of welfare in the UK?

Answer 1

Financial incentives and measures are affected by non-financial key indicators, like culture and underlying trends that push birth rates downwards.

Welfare provision is usually reactionary; seldom is it pro-active given the shortage of resources and misallocation of resources to address issues deemed not pertinent at the time.

Subject to being able to obtain social welfare measures and legislature drafts from the the house of Parliament and local county council, the following provides circumspect issues to take under consideration.


The declining birth rate costs economy and society
- People are living longer.
- A fall in the number of children.
- A decrease in the work force.
- An increase in the ratio of the elderly in the total population.
- An increasing burden on women from their work and child-care.
- Lack of daycare to lifestyle choices.
- Declining qualified workers.
- Lower guarantee of maintenance of employees skills.
- Social benefits offered by welfare states, e.g. U.K., are funded with deficit spending; a smaller working population pays the taxes to fund social benefits used by a larger ageing non-economic contributing population.
- Housing the aged
- Housing the post-generation Xers wherein housing costs exceed wages

Whys of decline
- A rise in the number of unmarried women.
- Increase in the use of contraceptives.
- More public emphasis on delaying sexual activity.
- Greater fear of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
- “Responsible attitudes" regarding "casual sex and out-of-wedlock childbearing."

Measures
- Money for seniors, for children, tax deductions.


Other women’s issues
“It is important to look at this problem from the viewpoint that we must ease or remove women's burden of both work and child-care or child-care only, develop various environments where they can raise children free from worry, and build a society where they can have a dream and hope for their family and child-care.” (Japan’s policy)