<P> Poverty in the interwar years ( 1918 -- 1939 ) was responsible for several measures which largely killed off the Poor Law system . The Board of Guardians ( Default ) Act 1926 was passed in response to some Boards of Guardians supporting the Miners during the General Strike . Workhouses were officially abolished by the Local Government Act 1929 , and between 1929 and 1930 Poor Law Guardians , the `` workhouse test '' and the term `` pauper '' disappeared . The Unemployment Assistance Board was set up in 1934 to deal with those not covered by the earlier 1911 National Insurance Act passed by the Liberals , and by 1937 the able - bodied poor had been absorbed into this scheme . By 1936 only 13 % of people were still receiving poor relief in some form of institution . In 1948 the Poor Law system was finally abolished with the introduction of the modern welfare state and the passing of the National Assistance Act . The National Health Service Act 1946 came into force in 1948 and created the modern day National Health Service . </P>
what key aspect of the welfare state was established in britain in 1948
the modern day National Health Service