1845 Scottish Poor Law Act
Encyclopedia
The Poor Law Act 1845 was an Act of Parliament
which reformed the Poor Law
system in Scotland.
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....
which reformed the Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
system in Scotland.
Main provisions
- The creation of a Board of Supervision to regulate the Poor Law system.
- A retention of the parish based system through Parochial Boards
- Powers for the Parochial Boards to raise taxes
- Poor relief could continue to be in the form of outdoor relief, poorhousePoorhouseA poorhouse or workhouse was a government-run facility in the past for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons, typically run by a local government entity such as a county or municipality....
s could be built to aid the sick - Parishes should join together to build poorhouses.
- An Inspector of the Poor decided whether applications for poor relief were legitimate