ABSTRACT
To describe completely and in precise terms the changes of the environment in which Voluntary Action has proceeded in any period would mean writing the economic, social and political history of that period. In this chapter the influence of a generally rising standard of living on Voluntary Action will be noted, after account has been taken of other economic and social changes. Parallel to the movement towards more equal distribution of wealth, there has been a redistribution of leisure, giving more to those who had least, taking leisure from those who had most. In each case an impulse given in the First World War has been reinforced by the Second World War. In the field covered by the Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services of 1942, five statutes have been passed already; the Family Allowances and Ministry of National Insurance Acts of 1945, the two National Insurance Acts and the National Health Service Act of 1946.
