Edward Heath Facts & Worksheets

Attendance Allowance

• Attendance allowance is a non-contributory social security benefit given to elderly disabled individuals in the UK. The National Insurance (Old Persons’ and Widows’ Pension and Attendance Allowance) Act was introduced in 1970. The benefit is meant to help people who would otherwise need to enter residential care live independently.
• The Department of Work and Pensions is in charge of paying the benefits. The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act of 1992 combined Mobility Allowance and Attendance Allowance into a single benefit, called Disability Living Allowance, for those under the age of 65. A claimant must demonstrate that they require assistance, experience difficulties with their physiological functions or require ongoing supervision. Supervision at night would need someone to be on duty to monitor the claimant.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Those who initially file a claim and are above 65.

• If a claimant already receives Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance, they are ineligible to apply for Attendance Allowance.

• Claimants must be in the United Kingdom at the time of their claim, though there are some exceptions for members of the armed forces and their families.

• Payment halts if the claimant spends more than four weeks in a hospital or nursing home or more than 13 weeks travelling abroad.

Family Fund

• Family Fund is a UK-based registered charity that supports families with disadvantaged children. It was created in 1973 by the UK government to directly assist families of children under 18 who are severely handicapped or unwell. By providing grants to families with the lowest incomes to help ease the stress of daily life, the organisation seeks to assist families with disabled or chronically sick children and young people aged 17 and under to have options and the opportunity to enjoy an ordinary life.
• The foundation seeks to assist qualified families once a year with grants for things like white goods, outdoor play equipment, laptops and holidays that make life simpler and more fun for impaired children, young people and their families. As part of their commitment to helping disadvantaged children and young people, the national governments of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales give money to the organisation. 

Family Income Supplement

• Heath created the Family Income Supplement, a means-tested benefit, in Britain in 1970. It became effective in August 1971. It was meant to be a temporary addition to the Social Security programme and was eliminated by the Social Security Act of 1986, in which Family Credit took its place.

Invalidity Benefit

• The United Kingdom’s National Insurance Programme’s Invalidity Benefit was one of the benefits that Heath’s administration implemented in 1971. It was given to individuals forced to leave their line of work due to an injury or a chronic disease. 

Supplementary Benefit

• In the UK, supplemental benefits were means-tested benefits given to those with low incomes, including seniors, the ill, and single parents, regardless of whether they were considered unemployed. It was implemented in November 1966 to replace the previous discretionary National Assistance payments system and, as its name implies, to ‘top up’ other benefits.

Slum Clearance

• In the years after the Second World War, districts devastated by slum clearance were typically replaced by social housing, with priority allocation in many of the newer homes going to people who had lost their former homes due to destruction. 

FALL FROM POWER

• Heath sought to strengthen his administration by scheduling a general election for 28 February 1974, under the campaign slogan ‘Who governs Britain?’ The election outcome was ambiguous since no party secured an overall majority in the House of Commons; the Conservatives had the highest number of votes, although Labour obtained a slightly more significant number of seats. Heath initiated discussions with Jeremy Thorpe, the Liberal Party leader; nevertheless, upon their failure, he resigned as Prime Minister on 4 March 1974. He was succeeded by Harold Wilson’s minority Labour government, which was subsequently affirmed, albeit with a slim majority, in a second election in October.
• Heath was perceived as a liability by numerous Conservative MPs, party activists and newspaper editors. His demeanour was perceived as distant and detached, irritating even to his acquaintances. He was determined to retain his position as Conservative leader despite the defeat in the October 1974 general election. Initially, it seemed that by appealing to the loyalty of his front-bench colleagues, he may succeed. In the weeks after the second electoral setback, Heath faced significant pressure to commit to a review of the regulations and consented to form a commission to recommend modifications and pursue re-election.
• The margin needed to be increased for Thatcher to secure the 15% majority required to win on the initial ballot; however, Heath, having placed second, promptly resigned and refrained from contesting the subsequent ballot. Thatcher assured Heath a position in the Shadow Cabinet and intended to grant him whatever role he desired. His experts concurred that he should postpone for a minimum of six months. Hence, he declined. He remained unyielding, and his obstinacy was termed ‘the incredible sulk’.

LATER CAREER AND DEATH

• For numerous years, Heath maintained his critique of the party’s novel ideological trajectory. At the time of his defeat, he retained popularity among grassroots Conservative members and received enthusiastic applause at the 1975 Conservative Party Conference. He played a prominent role in the 1975 referendum campaign in which the UK decided to remain in the European Economic Community (EEC), and he continued to engage internationally, serving on the Brandt Commission investigating developmental difficulties, particularly with North-South projects (Brandt Report). 
• His relationship with Thatcher was unfavourable, and in 1979–80, he declined her proposals for the roles of Ambassador to the United States and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Heath remained a backbench Member of Parliament for the London district of Old Bexley and Sidcup and, from 1992, held the distinction of being the longest-serving MP and the oldest British MP. In August 2003, at the age of 87, Heath experienced a pulmonary embolism while holidaying in Salzburg, Austria.
• He never wholly recuperated, and due to his deteriorating health and mobility, he made very few public appearances in the last two years of his life. His final appearance occurred on 30 November 2004 during the inauguration of a set of gates at St Paul’s Cathedral commemorating Churchill. Sir Edward Heath succumbed to pneumonia at his residence on 17 July 2005 at the age of 89. 
• A memorial ceremony for Heath took place at Westminster Abbey on 8 November 2005, attended by 2,000 individuals. Three days later, his remains were placed at Salisbury Cathedral. In a memorial, former Prime Minister Tony Blair remarked: ‘He was a man of profound integrity and steadfast beliefs from which he never deviated.’