Speenhamland System

Fundamentals of Speenhamland

Previous to Speenhamland, relief was provided only to the infirm, the aged, or the dependent in the form of outdoor relief as dictated by the Elizabethan Poor Laws of 1601. The Speenhamland system changed this by allowing able-bodied people to draw on the poor rates. The parish would supplement any given laborer's income to an established basic subsistence level through wage supplementation.

The legislation read, “when the gallon loaf of second flour, weighing 8 pounds 11 ounces shall cost 1 shilling, then very poor and industrious man shall have for his own support 3s weekly, either produced by his own or his family's labor or an allowance from the poor rates, and for the support of his wife and every other of his family 1s 6d. When the gallon loaf shall cost 1s 4d, then every poor and industrious man shall have 4s weekly for his own and 1s 10d for the support of every other of his family.” Notably, the minimum weekly income for a worker would rise or fall by every member of the worker's family—the amount of which was dependent on the price of a gallon loaf of bread.

The 1662 Settlement Laws, an integral component of the Speenhamland system, dictated that entitlement to relief was reliant upon where an individual was settled. [Page 1018]Because of the prevalence of migrant laborers and the subsequent need to protect parishes from pauper migrations, relief was regulated through a residency requirement, granting assistance to individuals only in the parish in which they lived.

The premise of these allowances spread quickly and the Speenhamland system has been credited with saving many families from starvation. Yet what was intended as a safety net to relieve poverty actually triggered adverse effects, most notably its impact on employment. The guaranteed income was seen as creating a disincentive to work and as prompting a decline in wage levels during the Speenhamland period. Furthermore, the design of the system was said to encourage early marriage and large families, as aid was dependent on the number of family members.

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