The 1905 Unemployed Workmen Act was first passed by the Conservative Party (UK)

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 in 1903 and was later renewed by the Liberal Party (UK)

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 in 1905. The Unemployed Workmen Act established Distress Committees which gave out single grants to businesses or local authorities in order to allow them to hire more workers, which in turn decreased the number of people out of work. However, those with a criminal record were not given the opportunity to work in the businesses that were given grants.

See also

• Liberal reforms
  Liberal reforms
  The Liberal welfare reforms were acts of social legislation passed by the British Liberal Party after the 1906 General Election. It has been argued that this legislation shows the emergence of the modern welfare state in the UK. They shifted their outlook from a laissez-faire system to a more...
  
  
• Liberal Party (UK)
  Liberal Party (UK)
  The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
  
  
• List of Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom