SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF RE-SETTLEMENT

Abstract

THE major problem of re-settlement in Britain, and all the implications of the Government schemes for dealing with some four million ex-Service men and women in civilian life, are the subject of two broadsheets issued by Political and Economic Planning. It is doubtful whether either the Forces or the general public appreciate the sheer magnitude of this operation, coupled with inter-industrial transfers, or the many difficulties, particularly psychological, which are likely to arise. The first of these broadsheets, No. 238, “The Disabled Ex-Serviceman”, deals with one limited aspect of re-settlement: the question of how the community can best fulfil its obligation to the men and women who have suffered lasting disability as a result of their war service. The main reason for treating this subject separately is that the official schemes appeared to be yielding too high a proportion of failures ; but even in this broadsheet it is pointed out that in many respects the distinction between the fit and the disabled is artificial. Both alike need not only the service of efficient re-settlement machinery, but also sympathetic help and advice from officials who like o and understand their fellows. Fundamentally, re-settlement is an exercise in the art of treating people as free human beings, not arbitrarily classified units ; and the second broadsheet, No. 239, “Re-settlement”, is largely confined to a survey of the outstanding needs and problems involved in re-settlement, and a description of the ways in which the Government, reinforced by voluntary effort, proposes to tackle them.