Beneath the Surface: A Country of Two Nations

Page 8 of 11

• 1. A country of two nations
• 2. Optimists and pessimists
• 3. The labouring poor
• 4. Rural and urban poverty
• 5. Official attitudes to the relief of poverty
• 6. Lowest standard of living
• 7. The workhouse
• 8. The Scottish Poor Law
• 9. Charity and self-help
• 10. Conclusion
• 11. Find out more
• Print entire article

The Scottish Poor Law

In Scotland, a different system operated, with voluntary contributions distributed under the direction of the minister and elders of the Kirk and, from 1752, more strongly by the direction of the landowners, who were the principal ratepayers. The able-bodied poor had no right to statutory relief as in England. Scottish poor law reform developed differently, mainly because of the differences in agricultural organisation and in a later industrialisation of manufacture.

'Unlike England, the poor had the right of legal appeal against the denial of relief.'

The Scottish Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845 created a central Board of Supervisors and parochial boards, with the authority to raise local, necessary funds and decide on their distribution. Unlike England, the poor had the right of legal appeal against the denial of relief. Outdoor relief continued to be favoured, but the rise in costs and claims of extravagance and poor mismanagement brought demands for a more restricted system after 1868, with less use of the poorhouse and testing each applicant's need for support. By 1894 the creation of the Local Government Board made Scottish practice much closer to that of England.

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Published: 2001-01-01