Why did the Poor Law need to change?

• in February 1832, the Whig (a political party) government set up a Commission of Enquiry into the Operation of the Poor Law

CONCERNS AND PROBLEMS:

• increasing cost of poor relief
• the growing belief that the poor law admin was corrupt
• fears that systems of relief were actually increasing poverty, rather than finding work relief was just handed to them (i.e. Speenhamland System where they subsidised low wages)
• Swing riots in the 1820s and 30s
• concerns of a revolution from France would spread to Britain
• Settlement Laws were costly to the government and unorganised…