Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832
Encyclopedia
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
systems in England and Wales. The group included Nassau Senior, a professor from Oxford University who was against the allowance system
Allowance system
The allowance system was a system of poor relief in Britain during the 1800s. The allowance system allowed the able-bodied poor to get allowance to boost their wages.-Source:* Rosemary Rees, Poverty and Public Health 1815-1949, London, Heinemann...
, and Edwin Chadwick
Edwin Chadwick
Sir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
, who was a Benthamite. The recommendations of the Royal Commission's report were implemented in the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, sometimes abbreviated to PLAA, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that reformed the country's poverty relief system . It was an Amendment Act that completely replaced earlier legislation based on the...
.
Formation
The formation of the Royal Commission was announced in by Viscount AlthorpJohn Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer
John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer PC, FRS , styled Viscount Althorp from 1783 to 1834, was a British statesman...
in the House of Commons on February 1, 1832; the body initially consisted of 7 commissioners and 16 assistant commissioners. The central board was expanded to 9 commissioners in 1833. The assistant commissioners were to be sent out to the country to collect data on poverty by visiting parishes and by having people respond to questionnaires, while the central board were to digest the information into a report.
The findings of the Poor Law Commissioners, published in 13 volumes, began appearing in February 1833. They were used to argue that the existing system of poor relief
Poor relief
Poor Relief refers to any actions taken by either governmental or ecclesiastical bodies to relieve poverty experienced by a population. More specifically, the term poor relief is often used to discuss how European countries dealt with poverty from the time just around the end of the medieval era to...
needed a radical overhaul.
Members
The nine members of the Central Board of the Commission were:,- Charles James BlomfieldCharles James BlomfieldCharles James Blomfield was a British divine, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years.-Early life:Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and educated at the local grammar school and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won the Browne medals for Latin and Greek odes, and the Craven...
(Bishop of London) - Chairman - William Sturges BourneWilliam Sturges BourneWilliam Sturges-Bourne PC , known as William Sturges until 1803, was a British Tory politician. He was briefly Home Secretary under George Canning in 1827.-Background and education:...
(chairman of the 1817 Parliamentary commission) - John Bird SumnerJohn Bird SumnerJohn Bird Sumner was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Sumner was the elder brother of Bishop Charles Richard Sumner. He was born at Kenilworth, Warwickshire and educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. In 1802 he became a master at Eton and was...
(Bishop of Chester) - Nassau Senior
- Walter CoulsonWalter CoulsonWalter Coulson was a newspaper editor, barrister and an associate of Jeremy Bentham. He served as Parliamentary reporter on the Morning Chronicle and was the editor of the evening paper The Traveler. He was a Commissioner on the Royal Commission that led to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. His...
- Rev.Henry BishopHenry Bishop (reverend)Reverend Henry Bishop was a fellow of Oriel College, University of Oxford. Bishop was a member of the Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832 which reformed the Poor Law system in England and Wales....
- Henry GawlerHenry GawlerHenry Gawler was an English barrister. Gawler was one of seven people who wrote the Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832, a report which recommended changes to the Poor Law system in England and Wales. Three portraits of him appear in the National Portrait Gallery.-References:...
- James Traill
- Edwin ChadwickEdwin ChadwickSir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
(secretary)
The first seven were appointed in 1832, the last two in 1833.
Report recommendations
The writers of the report suggested radical changes to Britain's poor relief system:- Separate workhouses for different types of paupers including aged, children, able-bodied males and able-bodied females.
- The grouping of parishes into unions to provide workhouses
- The banning of outdoor reliefOutdoor reliefThis article refers to Britain's welfare provision after the 1601 Poor Law. For welfare programmes see Social securityAfter the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law , outdoor relief was that kind of poor relief where assistance was in the form of money, food, clothing or goods, given to alleviate...
so that people had to enter workhouses in order to claim relief - A central authority to implement these policies and prevent the variation in practice which occurred under the old poor law.
Response from Parliament
There was strong support for the report from all sides of Parliament. The report's ideas were quickly passed into law. The Whigs controlled the House of Commons and supported the utilitarian arguments of thinkers such as Jeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
. Those that did not support the bill were more concerned with the levels of centralisation the act would bring rather than the recommendations of the report such as the building of workhouses.
The report lowered the cost of poor relief which was a concern of MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s.