Less eligibility

Less eligibility was a British government policy passed into law in the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834.^[1] It stated that conditions in workhouses had to be worse than conditions available outside so that there was a deterrence to claiming poor relief. In reality this meant that an individual had to be destitute in order to qualify for poor relief.

Rationale

The developers of less eligibility were, like most humans, convinced that their actions were for the best. They had no problem with the aged and genuinely infirm who could not work under any circumstances (in reality, a fairly limited number). Instead, they thought the problem was the larger numbers of the able-bodied who either could not or would not earn enough money to support themselves. It was perceived that paying money to this category would increase their number.

Limitations

Less eligibility did not apply to children, who were considered blameless for their poverty.

Criticism

Bloy states that the separation of husbands and wives was the subject of "great hostility".^[2]

References

External links

• Victorian web.org - The Principle of 'less eligibility'

Poor Laws of the British Isles
Poor Laws by territory	England and Wales Scotland Ireland Isle of Man Channel Islands	Nantwich workhouse
Old Poor Law	Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 Tudor Poor Laws Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) Poor Relief Act 1662 Poor Act 1697 Workhouse Test Act Relief of the Poor Act 1782 House of Correction Overseer of the poor Poor rate Poor relief
Relief systems	Indoor relief Outdoor relief Classification of the poor Speenhamland Labour Rate Roundsman Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
New Poor Law	Royal commission (1832) Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 Less eligibility Workhouse Workhouse test Board of guardians Outdoor Labour Test Order Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order Poor law unions Opposition Book of Murder Scottish poorhouses
Changes after 1834	Poor Law Commission Poor Law Board Local Government Board Andover workhouse scandal Huddersfield workhouse scandal Union Chargeability Act
Decline and abolition	Liberal welfare reforms Royal Commission (1905–09) Majority Report Minority Report Interwar poverty National Assistance Act 1948
Other	Historiography of the Poor Laws Timeline of the Poor Law system Poor Relief Act List of poor law unions in England List of poor law unions in Wales List of Irish Poor Law Unions