Pressures to reform the Poor Law

The system was ineffective: 

• It was up to the parish as to what they did with their poor, thus the quality of support was dependent upon the goodwill in the parish
• It was a very hapharzard response to a national problem
• Speenhamland system encouraged large families which further increased the claimant count and the strain on the system
• The parish-based systems were very limited, inconsistent and unco-ordinated
• Increase of population created an overwhelming demand for poor relief that the system couldn't handle
• Cyclic employment in the countryside and the introduction of the threshing machine forced workers to apply for relief more frequently
• War with France (1793 - 1815) made living costs rise, which increased the price of bread and made more families apply for poor relief, therefore Speenhamland came under mounting pressure, so rates had to be increased which resulted in criticism from those paying the rates
• During economic decline in urban areas, concentrated numbers of people had to apply for relief and the system could not sustain such concentrated demand which led to riots in towns and cities
• 1815 - when the economy entered a depression and soliders returned home from war, the applications for relief were extremely high
• Corn Laws increased the price of bread and made Speenhamland system very expensive; Swing Riots in mostly counties that used the Speenhamland system

1814 - 1818 - relief averaged £6.4 million

1818 - Act for the Regulation of Parish Vestries

1819 - Act to Amend the Laws for Relief of the Poor

These…