Treasury: Social Services Division (SS and 2SS series) Files

T 227

1913-1983

Files of the Social Services (SS) Division. The subjects include:

• the National Health Service
• National Insurance
• Ministry of Labour
• Ministry of Education and Department of Education and Science
• Rating of Government Property Department
• Exchequer equalisation grants,
• local government finance
• Medical Research Council
• National Assistance Board
• Board of Control
• General Register Office
• International Labour Office
• World Health Organisation
• friendly societies
• the Arts Council
• university grants
• museums
• galleries
• libraries
• Treasury Studentships in Foreign Languages and Cultures
• National Parks Commission
• new towns
• town and country planning,
• export of works of art.

Some earlier files from the E and S series were re-registered to the SS series in 1948. In 1972 some 2SS files were reregistered in the 2HE and then the 2HG series and can be found in T 353. In October 1975 as a result of the Treasury reorganisation a smaller Social Services Division remained and re-used the SS file prefix with a red stamp to denote it was from October 1975 (and not from 1948-1960). This series includes a number of the NHC (National Heritage and Culture) files that ran from 1981 which were transferred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Chronological within original subject classification (see Treasury Registration Systems)

Files in this series of the Reviewing Committee on Exports of Works of Art were transferred to the Department of Education and Science in 1965 and 1982; see

EP 1

SS (1948-1960), 2SS and NHC file series

Public Record(s)

English

5743 file(s)

Open unless otherwise stated

From 1977 Treasury

T 227/4522-4526 were originally transferred by Treasury to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from where they were accessioned into The National Archives in 2006; the remainder of the SS files from 1978 remain in the custody of Treasury.

1948 to 1981

Series is accruing

The Social Services (SS) Division was set up in 1938. Its responsibilities included welfare, health, educational and cultural questions. In 1947, the Division was given responsibility for supply matters relating to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, which were transferred from the Land and Buildings (LB) Division. In 1958, a new Arts, Sciences and Lands (AS) Division took over work on museums, galleries and the National Land Fund, but Treasury functions were transferred back in 1963 and the remainder transferred to the Ministry of Education, later Department of Education and Science.

In 1962 a Treasury reorganisation saw responsibilities for Home Office, Scottish Home and Health Department, police, prisons, civil defence, legal aid and child care transferred to Social Services (SS) Division from Law and Order (LO) Division. In the mid-1960s responsibilities for local government, including rate support grants, and government accommodation was transferred to the Environment and Public Purchasing (EP) Division. In mid to late 1972 work on immigration, police, prisons and borstals was transferred to the Home and Employment Division (HE) and then in 1974 to the Home and General Division. In October 1975 in a major re-organisation of the Treasury the Social Services (SS) Division was split up, the responsibilities for education, libraries, law, order and protective services transferring to the new Home, Transport and Education Division (HE).