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Workhouse test

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The workhouse test was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. It stated that anyone who wanted to get poor relief must enter a workhouse. The condition was never implemented in Britain and outdoor relief continued to be given.[1] The intended purpose was to make the workhouses as undesirable as possible so that people would look for work elsewhere before attempting to receive indoor relief.[2] The "test" itself was, in essence, were the people who wanted relief desperate enough to enter the workhouse, despite the conditions.

References

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  1. ^ Drudy, P. J. (1986). Ireland and Britain Since 1922. CUP Archive. ISBN 9780521332095. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ^ "The Victorian Workhouse". Historic UK. Retrieved 15 June 2021.