Evolution of the English Poor Law and Development of Social Services

This essay meticulously examines the historical evolution of the English Poor Law system, tracing its origins back to the 16th century and its subsequent transformations. It begins with the Old Poor Law and the New Poor Law of 1834, highlighting the shift from informal charity to a formalized national system. The essay then delves into the specifics of the 1601 Act, detailing its provisions for supporting the poor, including the establishment of a national tax system and the role of overseers. Furthermore, it explores the development of social services, including the emergence of Almshouses and Workhouses, as well as the rise of philanthropic organizations. The essay also addresses the structure and functions of local authorities in the City of London, including the role of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the operations of public and private social work services. Finally, it examines the theoretical perspectives of humanism and functionism in social work practice, highlighting the dilemmas faced by social workers in applying these frameworks.

ESSAY

The English Poor Law system evolved pursuant to Second World War and continued till
the evolution of modern welfare state. The traces of this law can be discovered as back as 1536,
but primarily can be classified into – Old Poor Law which existed in the reign of Elizabeth and
New Poor Law, 1834 which was in essence a modified version of the old system of law. The fall
of the Poor Law initiated in the starting of 20th century due to factors such as reforms for liberal
welfare, formation of trade unions & friendly societies and such other reforms which bypassed
the existing system of law. It is important to note that the obligation taking care of the poor
people was imposed on the Church in and around 1572. During this time every parish was
assigned an Overseer in order to help and fulfil the said cause. Followed by this scenario in the
year 1601 the Act of Poor Law came into force. This act empowered the Overseers to gather a
poor rate from the members of the parish who were wealthier, in order to distribute the collected
amount among the poors. This law stayed applicable until 1834, when the new law for poor took
over the legal framework. Some of the specific category of people who received help from these
laws can be categorized as elderly, sick, orphaned, afflicted and unemployed. The held rendered
to each one of them was not only in terms of money, rather the daily requirements of food, work,
clothing and so on were also addressed (The Poor Law, 2016). Therefore the primary and
fundamental aim of enforcement of this law by the government was to help the poor and needy
population. The following study shall focus on the evolution of the 1601 Elizabeth poor law in
England and the consequent developments in the field of social services in the country. It shall
elaborate on the different Local Authorities which exist in the city of London and the structure
which exists in them. It shall throw light on the regulations which govern the profession of social
worker, along with other professionals. Further, the it shall elaborate on the manner in which
private and public social organizations are operating and receiving funds. Lastly, the study shall
demonstrate the theoretical perspectives of Humanism and functionism, highlighting the
dilemmas faced by the social workers in pursuance to these theories.
The genesis of the 1601 Act lies in the 15th century when the monasteries were declining
and the process of disruption of the medieval social structure was ongoing. During this time the
poor were helped through the medium of charity, and a completely informal structure of social
services was witnessed. The enactment of this law led to the transformation of charity into a
compulsory land tax, which was levied at the parish level. Some of the highlights of the Act were
support to the poor population, who are unable to work. A specific relief was offered to lame,

old, blind and impotent people. Further the able bodied population was given employment
opportunities and the idle poor were sent to rehabilitation houses which were known as House of
Correction in those times. In the year 1572 the Elizabeth, England enacted a poor law which
imposed a compulsory poor tax on wealthy people and imposed the duty of their correction on
the society (Quigley, 2010). Pursuant to this act the 1576 Act and 1597 Act were introduced for
improving the conditions of the poor. All the prevalent informal practices in relation to these
laws was formalized by the 1601 Act, with the assistance of development of a National system
levying property taxes. Some of the specific provisions of the act were imposition of poor rate on
the parish, provide adequate working material, provide apprenticeship programs to those children
who are orphan or who are not supported by their parents, collection of poor relied rate from the
owners of the property and offer the deserving poor with adequate relief. It is interesting to note
that all the earlier acts provided for aiding the poor on the basis of parish, however, the 1601 Act
created a systematic National system of levying tax and assisting the poor with the funds so
collected from the wealthy population.
The genesis of the subject of social work can be placed in the desire of the society to
address the issue of poverty and inequality in the surroundings. The present social work is related
to concept of charity which was followed at the time of prevalence of poor law. After the
enactment of the poor law, various Almshouses came into existence in order to support the poor
people. The receipt of outdoor relief was restricted to some extent by the modified Poor Law. It
provided that the entities named as Workhouse are only entitles to cater to the needs of poor.
However, the conditions of these workhouses became worse with the passing of time. In the 19th
century with the advancement in the technology and urbanization, different forms of social
problems emerged (Rushton, 2013). This in turn pushed the socially concerned and active people
to develop the new philosophy of charity. Evolution of different rescue societies came into
existence for the help of poor and needy. The Charity Organization Society is known for
introduction of social work as a professional occupation. This led to emergence of personal
philanthropy in the country in order to cater to the needs of the poor.
Currently, the City of London is governed by the Local authorities for maximum
purposes, and is named as the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple. Local authorities have been
imposed with the statutory obligation for commissioning social services and safeguard
individuals against varied partnerships. All the authorities have been imposed with a duty of

appointing a statutory Director in respect to their social services. However, the authorities are
entitled to exercise discretion in connection to the structure (Charlesworth, 2012.). The following
figure depicts the structure which is followed at the social service department in the local
authority:
Figure 1: Structure of social services UK
(Source: Oakland, 2010)

The health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is responsible for the professions of
therapists, different scientists, dietitians, doctors, social workers and so on. HCPC acts as the
regulator of the specified professions, in order to protect the public (Piven and Cloward, 2012).
All the titles under the relevant professions are required to register themselves with the regulator,
and breach of any of the directions shall amount to be a criminal offence. In pursuance to the
same, the profession of social worker is also required to register themselves with the regulator
and stay in adherence to the requirements of the regulator. It is can be inferred from the stated
facts that the activities of schools, hospitals, care establishments, police and so on are governed
under the regulations of HCPC. For instance schools shall be based on to impart maximum
knowledge and enable the minds of the young generation to grow. While the hospitals aim to
make the people feel better and care for them. There exists various social work services in the
country which operate both in the public and private sector. NSPCC and Barnados are the two
examples running in the private sector to prevent child abuse in the nation. The Board of
Trustees of the organization are responsible for control and management of the charity. The
primary funds of the organization are raised from the donations of the public in general, and
amounts to be around 90 percent of the finances. Apart from this lottery money is another source
of funds. (NSPCC: Annual Report, 2012). Barnados is another charity which is functioning in the
private sector. The organization was founded by Thomas John in 1866 to provide services to
vulnerable children and other young people who are not able to support themselves for living.
The primary source of finance of this entity is also donations received from the public. The
source of finance for the public authorities is 61% by Central Government in the form of specific
grants, 17% by Business rates and 22% by council tax. The Equal Opportunities Act, 2010 is one
of the legislations which govern the operations of the entities (Overview of how local government
finance works, 2016). These organizations are under an obligation to act in a fair and
undiscriminating manner, and provide their services to all the persons who are in need of the
help being given by the entity. Health and Social Care Act, 2012 is another legislation which
governs the activities of entities operating in the relevant areas.
The social work practice is governed by the different theoretical perspectives, which
act as the guide for every step being undertaken by the social workers. These can be in the form
of humanism and functionism. The former believes in considering every individual as a human
with dignity and some worth (Theories Used in Social Work Practice & Practice Models, 2014).

The interactions among humans are expected to be non-exploitative, cooperative and lastly,
equalitarian. The major dilemma faced by the social workers with this theory is that they are
ignorant of the fact that maximum social activities are pursued with a political perspective. On
the hand in the case of functionism theory, the social workers practice and retain themselves in
the society, merely to fulfil their functions and promote stability as well as integration. This
approach is often criticized for not bringing about any change in the society for being
conservatively biased.
It can be inferred from the above study that the 1601 Elizabeth law was enacted by the
government in order to uplift the living conditions of the poor and deprived class of the
population. In pursuance to the same a National Tax system was introduced to collect funds in
order to help the unemployed and poor population. It has also been realized that an effective and
efficient structure is followed at the Local authorities, which further enables them to accomplish
their aim of providing social services to the poor and deprived. This field of functions have
developed and various individuals of the society have taken up the profession of philanthropy,
which can be governed by Humanism or Functionism perspectives.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Charlesworth, L., 2012. Big Society, legal structures, Poor Law and the myth of a voluntary
society. A. Ishkanian & S. Szreter, eds, pp.50-60.
Oakland, J., 2010. British Civilization: An Introduction. Routledge.
Piven, F.F. and Cloward, R., 2012. Regulating the poor: The functions of public welfare.
Vintage.
Rushton, P., 2013. The poor law, the parish and the community in north-east England, 1600–
1800. Northern History.
Online
NSPCC: Annual Report, 2012. [PDF]. Available through:
<https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/annual-reports/nspcc-annual-report-
2012.pdf>. [Accessed on 1st December 2016].
Overview of how local government finance works, 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/finance/guide>. [Accessed on 1st December
2016].
Quigley, W. P., Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working
and Nonworking Poor, 2010. [PDF]. Available through:
<https://www.uakron.edu/dotAsset/726694.pdf>. [Accessed on 1st December 2016].
The Poor Law, 2016. [Online]. Available through: <http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/the-poor-
law.htm>. [Accessed on 1st December 2016].
Theories Used in Social Work Practice & Practice Models, 2014. [Online]. Available through:
<https://socialwork.simmons.edu/theories-used-social-work-practice/>. [Accessed on 1st
December 2016].

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1437&context=jssw
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https://www.nspcc.org.uk/fighting-for-childhood/about-us/organisation-structure/
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https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
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http://www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10002963sop_practitioner_psychologists.pdf
http://www.hcpc-uk.org/aboutus/

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