Poor Law

POOR LAW. The term "poor law" in British usage denotes a peculiar system of giving public relief to the destitute. (See PAUPER.) The principles are laid down in statutes and worked out in detail in "orders" and "circulars" of a central department of State, the Ministry of Health or the Scottish Board of Health. The administration is in the hands of a special local authority, known as the board of guardians in England and Wales, and the parish council in Scotland. The modern system began in 1834, when the "New Poor Law" replaced the "Old Poor Law" which after nearly two and a half centuries of existence had become an intolerable scandal. The machinery set up then has not under gone much change, nor, in theory at least, have the methods of relief, though there have been considerable modifications in practice, which will be referred to presently. The whole of the Statute law was consolidated in the Poor Law Act, 1927, which together with the Poor Law Institutions Order, 1913, and the Relief Regulation Order, 1911, contains a full outline of the system.

Central Authority.

The Ministry of Health took over the functions of the Local Government Board in 1919. (The first central authority was the Poor Law Commissioners of These were replaced in 1847 by the Poor Law Board, which in turn was abolished on the creation of the Local Government Board in 1871.) The Ministry of Health exercises a close con trol over the local authorities, through its poor law "orders," which they must obey, its inspectors, its systematic audit of local accounts, and its power of sanctioning loans. And, by the Boards of Guardians (Default) Act, 1926, the minister has power to supersede any board of guardians, which he considers unable to discharge its functions properly, by persons appointed by himself.

Local Authorities.

The board of guardians is a popularly elected body in each of the 600 odd Poor Law Unions in England and Wales, whose members hold office for three years. It has a limited power of co-opting. The board acts, like other local au thorities, through committees dealing with separate departments of its work, and through its permanent officials. The most im portant of these are the clerk, the master and the matron of the workhouse, the relieving officer and the medical officers. In addi tion there are officials in charge of various institutions, such as children's homes and schools and casual wards, as well as teachers, infirmary nurses, etc. The guardians' expenses are met mainly out of the local rates, by precepting on the rating au thority, the town or district council. But they also receive con

siderable grants-in-aid from the national exchequer. In London the expenditure of the boards of guardians is largely equalized through a pool system known as the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund, into which the richer Unions pay, and out of which the poorer Unions receive, large sums. Thus in 1925-6 Bermondsey drew 1248,469 from the fund, Stepney £308,386, and Poplar .1520,095.

Powers and Duties.

The principal duty of the board of guardians is the relief of destitution. It has besides one or two minor functions; e.g., it enforces the vaccination acts and ap points registrars of births and deaths. The relief to the destitute may be either "indoor" or "outdoor." Indoor relief is closely regulated by the Poor Law Institutions Order, 1913, and is given in workhouses, infirmaries and other institutions such as casual wards, district sick asylums, poor law schools, training-ships, "cottage" and other homes for children, homes for the aged, county and county borough asylums, licensed houses for lunatics, schools for the blind, deaf and dumb. Outdoor relief includes al lowances in money or kind, medical attendance and drugs, the payment of funeral expenses, and the provision of work for able bodied men. Outdoor relief is not normally given to the able bodied; but the Relief Regulation Order, 1911, permits the guardians to depart from the rule when they consider that special circumstances warrant it, and report to, and get the sanction of, the Ministry. For the administration of medical out-relief the whole country is divided into districts more or less equal in area and population, for each of which a medical officer is appointed. Relief may, if the guardians choose, be given on loan, and the cost is then recoverable in a county court. The guardians also have power to recover the cost of relief either wholly or in part from certain persons who are legally liable for the maintenance of relatives. Thus a husband is bound to maintain his wife. Parents are bound to maintain their children under 16 (or over 16 if unable to support themselves), and grandparents their grand children under 16. Legitimate children are bound to maintain parents who are unable to support themselves. A married woman having a separate estate is bound to maintain her husband, her children under 16 and her parents. A single woman is bound to maintain her illegitimate children under 16.