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53-458: Laws passed in the first decade of the 20th century provided free school meals and free medical inspection for children, taking steps to reduce child poverty beyond what the existing poor law provided. The Ursula Wise column written by Susan Isaacs in Nursery World , and Oliver Untwisted by Muriel Payne advocated for reform of care services. The Beveridge Report of 1942 advocated

106-685: A Privy Counsellor in 1946 and a GCMG in 1957. Lord Listowel married three times. Firstly he married Judith , daughter of Raoul de Marffy-Mantuana, on 24 July 1933. They had one daughter: Lord and Lady Listowel were divorced in 1945. He married secondly Stephanie Sandra Yvonne Wise on 1 July 1958. They also had one daughter: They were divorced in 1963 and on 4 October 1963 Lord Listowel married thirdly Pamela Mollie Day. They had two sons and one daughter: Pamela, Countess Listowel, lives in Hampstead. Lord Listowel died in March 1997, aged 90, and

159-581: A Republic. He was later Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords between 1965 and 1976. He remained an active member of the House of Lords, speaking for the last time in July 1995, aged 88. Apart from his career in national politics, Lord Listowel was a member of the London County Council for East Lewisham between 1937 and 1946, and for Battersea North between 1952 and 1957. He was appointed

212-481: A complex system of government-funded support and protection, especially following the creation in the 1940s of the welfare state . In the late 15th century, Parliament took action on the growing problem of poverty, focusing on punishing people for being " vagabonds " and for begging . In 1495, during the reign of King Henry VII , Parliament enacted the Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 . This provided for officers of

265-450: A county basis, counties being organised into parishes which could set up workhouses between them. However, these workhouses were intended to help only the elderly, sick and orphaned, not the able-bodied poor . The sick, elderly and infirm were cared for in poorhouses whereas the able-bodied poor were provided with poor relief in their own homes. The Speenhamland system was a form of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty at

318-633: A devastating impact on poor relief. According to the historian Paul Slack , prior to the Dissolution "it has been estimated that monasteries alone provided 6,500 pounds a year in alms before 1537 [equivalent to £4,700,000 in 2023 ]; and that sum was not made good by private benefactions until after 1580." In addition to the closing of the monasteries, most hospitals (which in the 16th century were generally almshouses rather than medical institutions) were also closed, as they "had come to be seen as special types of religious houses". This left many of

371-587: A letter to accompany the report in which she asked the Home Secretary to create a separate Act dealing with the report's recommendations, in order to more clearly break from poor law. William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel described the Curtis Report as "a landmark in the history of collective care of children, because it is the outcome of the first public inquiry wide enough in scope to cover every type and class of homeless child." The Spectator and

424-766: A lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps . He entered the House of Lords on the death of his father in November 1931, by right of the United Kingdom peerage of Baron Hare , and made his maiden speech in March of the following year. He was a Labour Party whip in the Lords from 1941 to 1944, and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma from 1944 to 1945. When Labour came to power in 1945 under Clement Attlee , Listowel

477-575: A means to combat the increasing numbers of "vagabonds". Two years after the Poor Act 1575 was passed into law, yet more dramatic changes were made to the methods to fight vagabondage and to provide relief to the poor. The Act of 1578 transferred power from the justices of the peace to church officials in the area of collecting the new taxes for the relief of poverty established in the Vagabonds Act 1572. In addition, this Act of 1578 also extended

530-528: A meeting with the local bishop , who would 'induce and persuade' the recalcitrant parishioners. However, at times even such a meeting with the bishop would often fail to achieve its object. Sensing that voluntary donation was ineffective, Parliament passed new legislation, the Poor Act 1562 , in 1563, and once this act took effect parishioners could be brought by the bishop before the justices , and continued refusal could lead to imprisonment until contribution

583-531: A member of the committee chaired by Sir Godfrey Russell Vick to investigate remand homes for young offenders so had previous experience investigating residential children's homes. Other members included John Litten, the Principal of the National Children's Home , and Mrs Helen Murtagh , a Birmingham City Councillor and health visitor . James Clyde, Baron Clyde led a similar investigation by

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636-467: A point roughly half that of average wages of a century before. "The boom-and-bust nature of European trade in woolen cloth, England's major manufacture and export" caused a larger fraction of the population of England to fall under poverty. With this increase in poverty, all charities operated by the Catholic Church were abolished due to the impact of protestant reformation . A law passed by

689-451: A second time, execution." However, "there is no evidence that the Act was enforced." In 1550 these punishments were revised in a new act that was passed. The Vagabonds Act 1549 makes a reference to the limited enforcement of the punishments established by the Vagabonds Act 1547 by stating "the extremity of some [of the laws] have been occasion that they have not been put into use." Following

742-411: A very loose definition of a vagabond and did not make any distinction between those who were simply unemployed and looking for employment and those who chose to live the life of a vagabond. In addition, the act failed to recognise the impotent poor; those who could not provide for themselves. These included the sick, the elderly, and the disabled. This lack of a precise definition of a vagabond would hinder

795-607: The Burma Office , but in January 1948 this too was abolished, when Burma also gained independence, and Listowel then left the cabinet. He continued to serve under Attlee as Minister of State for Colonial Affairs from 1948 to 1950 and as Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1950 to 1951. In 1957, he was appointed Governor-General of Ghana , a post he held until 1960, when Ghana became

848-557: The Economist actively and promptly campaigned for changes to the law following the publication of the Curtis Report. A Central Training Council in Child Care was created in 1946 to oversee training of people caring for children. The Home Office Children Department Inspectorate was established to perform regular and integrated inspections of children's services. Superintendents were appointed in regional offices. The Curtis Report

901-751: The Parliament of Great Britain and sponsored by Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1723 introduced a "workhouse test", which meant that a person who wanted to receive poor relief had to enter a workhouse and undertake a set amount of work. The test was intended to prevent irresponsible claims on a parish's poor rate . By the mid to late 18th century most of the British Isles was involved in the process of industrialization in terms of production of goods, manner of markets and concepts of economic class. In some cases, factory owners "employed" children without paying them, thus exacerbating poverty levels. Furthermore,

954-440: The "deserving poor" or "worthy poor", were allowed assistance, while those who were idle were not. People incapable of providing for themselves, such as young orphans , the elderly, and the mentally and physically handicapped , were seen to be deserving, whereas those who were physically able but were too lazy to work were considered as "idle" and were seen as of bad moral character, and thus undeserving of help. Most poor relief in

1007-491: The 16th century, a fear of social unrest was the primary motive for much legislation that was passed by Parliament. This fear of social unrest carried into the reign of Edward VI . A new level of punishment was introduced in the Duke of Somerset's Vagabonds Act 1547 . "Two years' servitude and branding with a 'V' was the penalty for the first offense, and attempts to run away were to be punished by lifelong slavery and, there for

1060-464: The 17th century came from voluntary charity which mostly was in the form of food and clothing. Parishes distributed land and animals. Institutionalized charities offered loans to help craftsmen to alms houses and hospitals. The Poor Relief Act 1597 provided the first complete code of poor relief, established overseers of the poor and was later amended by the Poor Relief Act 1601 , which

1113-542: The Committee on Homeless Children in Scotland. The committee reviewed case files and reports, visited more than 400 institutions and foster homes, across 41 countries, and heard testimony from around 300 witnesses. Donald Winnicott and John Bowlby gave evidence, and the committee were particularly interested in hearing from Clare Britton , who had managed hostels for children during World War II . The Curtis Report

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1166-559: The Poor Laws of this era encouraged children to work through an apprenticeship , but by the end of the 18th century the situation changed as masters became less willing to apprentice children, and factory owners then set about employing them to keep wages down. This meant that there were not many jobs for adult labourers. For those who could not find work there was the workhouse as a means of sustenance. The 1782 poor relief law proposed by Thomas Gilbert aimed to organise poor relief on

1219-431: The Poor Laws that were implemented under the 1601 Acts. William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel , GCMG , PC (28 September 1906 – 12 March 1997), styled Viscount Ennismore between 1924 and 1931, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Labour politician. He was the last Secretary of State for India , as well as the last Governor-General of Ghana . Lord Listowel

1272-675: The Report of the Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832 called the Speenhamland System a "universal system of pauperism". The system allowed employers, including farmers and the nascent industrialists of the town, to pay below subsistence wages, because the parish would make up the difference and keep their workers alive. So the workers' low income was unchanged and the poor rate contributors subsidised

1325-418: The abolition of poor law, which had previously dealt with orphans and other children in need of state care. Some children would also be left homeless when evacuation came to an end, and there was no clear provision to deal with them. Marjory Allen had campaigned actively on behalf of children in residential care and her letters in national newspapers had caused public scandal at the neglect of children and

1378-418: The amount of the donation from each parish's more wealthy property-owners. This act finally turned these donations into what was effectively a local tax. In addition to creating these new imposed taxes, the Vagabonds Act 1572 created a new set of punishments to inflict upon the population of vagabonds. These included being "bored through the ear" for a first offense and hanging for "persistent beggars". Unlike

1431-592: The care of deprived children should be overseen by a single authority, which would be responsible for ensuring standards were met in both state and charitable organisations. The report advocated that children be cared for in places like a "normal family home" such as foster care or adoption, in preference to institutions. It further stated that if institutions were necessary, they should be smaller-scale to provide better attention to each child. The report recommended that siblings should be kept together and that children should be able to keep in contact with relatives where that

1484-436: The centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of helping the poor. Alongside ever-changing attitudes towards poverty, many methods have been attempted to answer these questions. Since the early 16th century legislation on poverty enacted by the Parliament of England , poor relief has developed from being little more than a systematic means of punishment into

1537-493: The effectiveness of the Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 for years to come. The problem of poverty in England was exacerbated during the early 16th century by a dramatic increase in the population. This rose "from little more than 2 million in 1485, ... [to] about 2.8 million by the end of Henry VII 's reign (1509)". The population was growing faster than the economy's ability to provide employment opportunities. The problem

1590-548: The elderly and sick without accommodation or care. In 1531, the Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 was revised, and a new act, the Vagabonds Act 1530 , was passed by Parliament which did make some provision for the different classes of the poor. The sick, the elderly, and the disabled were to be issued with licences to beg. But those who were out of work and in search of employment were still not spared punishment. Throughout

1643-530: The end of the 18th century and during the early 19th century. The system was named after a 1795 meeting at the Pelican Inn in Speenhamland, Berkshire , where a number of local magistrates devised the system as a means to alleviate the distress caused by high grain prices. The increase in the price of grain most probably occurred as a result of a poor harvest in the years 1795–96, though at the time this

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1696-568: The farmers. Following the onset of the Industrial Revolution , in 1834 the Parliament of the United Kingdom revised the Poor Relief Act 1601 after studying the conditions found in 1832. Over the next decade they began phasing out outdoor relief and pushing the paupers towards indoor relief . The differences between the two was that outdoor relief was a monetary contribution to the needy, whereas indoor relief meant

1749-443: The flaws of the 1662 act, the Poor Relief Act 1691 came into effect such that it presented methods by which people could gain settlement in new locations. Such methods included "owning or renting property above a certain value or paying parish rates, but also by completing a legal apprenticeship or a one-year service while unmarried, or by serving a public office" for that identical length of time. The main points of this system were

1802-492: The following: During the 16th and 17th centuries, the population of England nearly doubled. Capitalism in the agricultural and manufacturing arenas started to emerge, and trade abroad significantly increased. Despite this flourishing of expansion, sufficient employment rates had yet to be attained by the late 1600s. The population increased at alarming rates, outpacing the increase in productivity, which resulted inevitably in inflation. Concurrently, wages decreased, declining to

1855-484: The form of establishing more workhouses as indoor relief. Some people argue that as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was in its prime as an empire , it could have given more aid in the form of money, food or rent subsidies. In other parts of the United Kingdom, amendments to and adoptions of poor laws came in and around the same time. In Scotland, for example, the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 revised

1908-493: The individual was sent to one of the workhouses. Following the reformation of the Poor Laws in 1834, Ireland experienced a severe potato blight that lasted from 1845 to 1849 and killed an estimated 1.5 million people. The effects of the famine lasted until 1851. During this period the people of Ireland lost much land and many jobs, and appealed to the Westminster Parliament for aid. This aid generally came in

1961-603: The lack of a government body to oversee their care. The Dennis O'Neill case , when a 12-year-old died from abuse by his foster parents, further reinforced the need for changes to child services. Myra Curtis was appointed the head of the Care of Children Committee by the Home Secretary , Herbert Morrison , in December 1944. She was a former civil servant and the Principal of Newnham College , and had previously been

2014-437: The law to arrest and hold "all such vagabonds, idle and suspect persons living suspiciously and them so taken to set in stocks , there to remain three nights and to have none other sustenance but bread and water; and after the said three days and three nights, to be had out and set at large and to be commanded to avoid the town." As historian Mark Rathbone has discussed in his article "Vagabond!", this act of Parliament relied on

2067-483: The poor to migrate to other parishes that were not their own. In order to counteract this problem, the Poor Relief Act 1662 , also known as the Settlement Act, was implemented. This created many sojourners, people who resided in different settlements that were not their legal one. The Settlement Act allowed such people to be forcefully removed, and garnered a negative reaction from the population. In order to fix

2120-479: The power of the church by stating that " vagrants were to be summarily whipped and returned to their place of settlement by parish constables ." By eliminating the need for the involvement of the Justices, law enforcement was streamlined. Starting as early as 1590, public authorities began to take a more selective approach to supporting the poor. Those who were considered to be legitimately needy, sometimes called

2173-605: The previous brutal punishments established by the Vagabonds Act 1547, these extreme measures were enforced with great frequency. However, despite its introduction of such violent actions to deter vagabonding, the Vagabonds Act 1572 was the first time that Parliament had passed legislation which began to distinguish between different categories of vagabonds. " Peddlers , tinkers , workmen on strike , fortune tellers , and minstrels " were not spared these gruesome acts of deterrence. This law punished all able bodied men "without land or master" who would neither accept employment nor explain

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2226-432: The revision of the Vagabonds Act 1547 , Parliament passed the Poor Act 1551 . This focused on using the parishes as a source of funds to combat the increasing poverty epidemic. This statute appointed two "overseers" from each parish to collect money to be distributed to the poor who were considered to belong to the parish. These overseers were to 'gently ask' for donations for poor relief; refusal would ultimately result in

2279-447: The source of their livelihood. In this newly established definition of what constituted a vagabond, men who had been discharged from the military, released servants, and servants whose masters had died were specifically exempted from the act's punishments. This legislation did not establish any means to support these individuals. A system to support individuals who were willing to work, but who were having difficulty in finding employment,

2332-527: Was appointed Postmaster General , a post he held until April 1947, and was briefly Minister of Information between February and March 1946, when the office was abolished. In April 1947 he entered the cabinet as Secretary of State for India and Burma. Prime Minister Clement Attlee, however, made all the government's major decisions regarding India. After India gained independence in August 1947, his cabinet title became Secretary of State for Burma, working from

2385-415: Was established by the Poor Act 1575 . As provided for in this, justices of the peace were authorized to provide any town which needed it with a stock of flax , hemp , or other materials on which paupers could be employed and to erect a " house of correction " in every county for the punishment of those who refused work. This was the first time Parliament had attempted to provide labour to individuals as

2438-605: Was made available to Members of Parliament on the 13 September 1946. It was critical of the poor conditions in many institutions and the lack of training for childcare providers. It noted that legislation had lagged behind public opinion on appropriate standards of care for children. The Curtis Report recommended the appointment of children's officers specialising in childcare who would provide personal links between children and organisations. The committee calculated that 300 to 400 new child welfare professionals would be required and that training should begin urgently. It recommended that

2491-755: Was made worse because during the English Reformation , Henry VIII severed the ecclesiastical governance of his kingdoms of England and Ireland and made himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England . This involved the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales: the assets of hundreds of rich religious institutions, including their great estates, were taken by the Crown. This had

2544-411: Was made. However, even the Poor Act 1562 still suffered from shortcomings, because individuals could decide for themselves how much money to give in order to gain their freedom. A more structured system of donations was established by the Vagabonds Act 1572 . After determining the amount of funds needed to provide for the poor of each parish, justices of the peace were granted the authority to determine

2597-471: Was one of the longest-lasting achievements of her reign, left unaltered until 1834. This law made each parish responsible for supporting the legitimately needy in their community. It taxed wealthier citizens of the country to provide basic shelter, food and clothing, though they were not obligated to provide for those outside of their community. Parishes responsible for their own community caused problems because some were more generous than others. This caused

2650-656: Was presented to the Labour government and led to the enactment of the Children Act 1948 in July 1948, which mandated that every local authority must set up a children's committee to protect children's interests. An Advisory Council on Child Care was created to advise the Home Secretary on good practice in childcare. For her work on the committee, Myra Curtis was appointed DBE in 1949. Poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty . Over

2703-456: Was safe, and to practice religion in a form appropriate to them. The Curtis Report also commented on children selected for migration, arguing that it was not a desirable method of dealing with children and that whilst it could remain an option for children who wanted to migrate, the government should ensure that standards of care and welfare be comparable to children remaining in the UK. Curtis wrote

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2756-423: Was subject to great debate. Many blamed middlemen and hoarders as the ultimate architects of the shortage. The authorities at Speenhamland approved a means-tested sliding scale of wage supplements in order to mitigate the worst effects of rural poverty. Families were paid extra to top up wages to a set level according to a table. This level varied according to the number of children and the price of bread. In 1834,

2809-490: Was the eldest son of Richard Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel , and Freda, daughter of Francis Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 2nd Baron Derwent . His brothers included Professor Richard Gilbert Hare , an expert on Russian art and literature, and John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham , a Conservative Cabinet minister, was his younger brother. He was educated at Eton College , Balliol College, Oxford , Magdalene College, Cambridge and King's College London (PhD, 1932). Listowel served as

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