Poor law union
| Poor law union | |
|---|---|
|
Also known as: Poor law district |
|
| Category | Ad hoc board |
| Location | England and Wales |
| Created by | Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 |
| Created | 1834 |
| Abolished by | Local Government Act 1929 |
| Abolished | 1930 |
| Additional status |
Registration district Rural sanitary district |
| Government | Board of guardians |
| Subdivisions | Civil parish |
A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 the administration of the English Poor Laws was the responsibility of the vestries of individual parishes, which varied widely in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements. From 1834 the parishes were grouped into unions, jointly responsible for the administration of poor relief in their areas and each governed by a board of guardians. A parish large enough to operate independently of a union was known as a poor law parish. Collectively, poor law unions and poor law parishes were known as poor law districts. The grouping of the parishes into unions caused larger centralised workhouses to be built to replace smaller facilities in each parish. Poor law unions were later used as a basis for the delivery of registration from 1837, and sanitation outside urban areas from 1875. Poor law unions were abolished by the Local Government Act 1929, which transferred responsibility for public assistance to county and county borough councils.
The English Poor Laws were the system of poor relief that existed in England and Wales from the reign of Elizabeth I until the emergence of the modern welfare state after the Second World War. Historian Mark Blaug has argued that the Poor Law system provided "a welfare state in miniature, relieving the elderly, widows, children, the sick, the disabled, and the unemployed and underemployed".
The functions of poor law unions were exercised by boards of guardians, partly elected by ratepayers, but also including magistrates.
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