Ancestry UK

Outdoor Relief

The Poor Law Commission devoted much energy to the abolition of outdoor relief to the able-bodied, which was a lynch-pin of the 1834 Act. This had proved particularly difficult in the industrial north. Outdoor relief was the subject of two important General Orders issued by the Commission:

  • The Outdoor Labour Test Order of April, 1842, allowed relief (at least half of which was to be in food, clothing etc.) to be given to able-bodied male paupers who satisfied a Labour Test i.e. physical work, usually stone-breaking or oakum picking.
  • The Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order issued in December, 1844, prohibited all outdoor relief to able-bodied men and women apart from in exceptional circumstances.

The Labour Test Order was alone in force in 32 unions, mostly in the industrial north. The Prohibitory Order was alone in force in 396 unions. In 81 unions, both Orders were in force, allowing the Guardians some discretion in how to administer out-relief.

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