The Lessened impact of Welfarism on Law

The arguments of Atiyah about replacing areas of private tort law with alternative public compensation systems were reflected in the government-sponsored Pearson Report in 1979. This recommended, for example, that compensation with out proof of fault should be provided for road accident victims, and this would be funded by a tax on petrol. But this proposal was never implemented. The climate of ideas moved in favour of individual responsibility and a reduction in the size of the state, so that an expansion of the welfare state in England was no longer acceptable, though the victims of very specific injuries, such a lung disease among miners and children harmed by compulsory vaccination, did get special compensation from the legislator.