| AdminHistory | Organisations involved: Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust, Paul S. Cadbury Trust, Barrow Cadbury Fund Ltd.
Previous titles and/or title variations: medical; education and welfare of the handicapped; health; health and handicap.
Related grant categories: social service.
Dates of use: 1931/1932 to 1988/1989.
Cadbury Trusts grant subject filing reference number(s): 8.
The health and handicap category was of particular importance to Paul and Rachel Cadbury and finds its origin in the work of the Trust bearing his name. The couple's fifth child, Margaret, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and died at the age of twenty in 1950. Her illness led the couple to channel some of their considerable energies to cerebral palsy research and the care of those suffering from the condition. To this end Paul S. Cadbury co-founded the Midlands Spastics' Association (now Cerebral Palsy Midlands) and used the resources from his Trust to help establish Carlson House, a special school for children with cerebral palsy in 1947.
In addition to cerebral palsy research, the Cadbury Trusts also supported the University of Birmingham's Alcoholics Rehabilitation Research Group, battered baby research carried out by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham and Breakthrough Trust research into services for multiply disabled deaf children and families. Projects supported by the trusts during the 1970s and 1980s were largely restricted to these general areas of enquiry.
Health and handicap grant files first appear in the 1970s and were subsequently assigned the number eight as a category filing reference in accordance with Anthony Wilson's classification scheme for grant subjects. A representative health and handicap grant file label for the 1970s-1980s might read '8/3' to denote a health and handicap grant/the third grant under this category, namely the Alcoholics Rehabilitation Research Group. Though health and handicap grants existed as a separate category until 1984/1985 there was a marked degree of overlap with the related education and social service categories. For instance, a grant towards the education of disabled children could arguably be assigned to any of the three headings. The use of the term 'handicap' for this category was considered appropriate during its period of use.
Spending on health and handicap subscriptions and grants by the Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust remained at a relatively low level in relation to total annual spending throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Though the Paul S. Cadbury Trust committed a greater percentage of its resources to health and handicap, for instance 41% in 1973/1974, this total, £16,380, was less than that spent by the Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust that same year, £22,355 or 10.1%. By the early 1980s the Paul S. Cadbury Trust had heavily reduced its spending in this area, instead focusing its giving on housing, land and planning and Northern Ireland grants. During its final year as an independent category in 1984/1985 total spending on health and handicap amounted to £39,768. Of this total the Paul S. Cadbury Trust committed £2,014 and the Fund £1,379.
In 1985/1986 Trustees decided to amalgamate all outstanding education, health and social service grants into a single category. Spending in this area was restricted to existing grant commitments with any new applications assigned to other categories as appropriate. By 1988/1989 all outstanding health, education and social service grants had either been paid out or transferred to other areas allowing the amalgamated category to be eliminated. |