Ah, that is specific. Before the modern welfare state in Britain, the poor and sick were looked after by the parish - ie by public money raised by taxation. That was an administrative boundary. The parish you were born in had the duty of looking after you.
It is not Christian charity - it is social welfare. The boundaries of the parish were political and administrative.
Quote:
Prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Tudors Reformation, monasteries had been the primary source of poor relief, but their dissolution resulted in poor relief moving from a largely voluntary basis to a compulsory tax that was collected at a parish level.[17] Early legislation was concerned with vagrants and making the able-bodied work, especially while labour was in short supply following the Black Death.
[The earliest medieval Poor Law was the Ordinance of Labourers which was issued by King Edward III of England on 18 June 1349, and revised in 1350.[11] The ordinance was issued in response to the 1348–1350 outbreak of the Black Death in England,[12]]
Quote:
The Elizabethan Poor Law[17] of 1601 formalized earlier practices of poor relief contained in the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 yet is often cited as the beginning of the Old Poor Law system.[37] It created a system administered at parish level,[38] paid for by levying local rates on rate payers.[39] Relief for those too ill or old to work, the so-called 'impotent poor', was in the form of a payment or items of food ('the parish loaf') or clothing also known as outdoor relief. Some aged people might be accommodated in parish alms houses, though these were usually private charitable institutions.
Quote:
The Poor Relief Act 1601 (43 Eliz 1 c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601, popularly known as the Elizabethan Poor Law, "43rd Elizabeth"[3] or the Old Poor Law[4] was passed in 1601 and created a poor law system for England and Wales.[5]
It formalised earlier practices of poor relief distribution in England and Wales[6] and is generally considered a refinement of the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 that established Overseers of the Poor.[7] The "Old Poor Law" was not one law but a collection of laws passed between the 16th and 18th centuries. The system's administrative unit was the parish. It was not a centralised government policy[6] but a law which made individual parishes responsible for Poor Law legislation.
Quote: There was much variation in the application of the law and there was a tendency for the destitute to migrate towards the more generous parishes, usually situated in the towns.[38] This led to the Settlement Act 1662 also known as the Poor Relief Act 1662, this allowed relief only to established residents of a parish; mainly through birth, marriage and apprenticeship.
Quote:The problem of poverty caused growing public concern during the early 19th century. The existing system for looking after those unable to care for themselves - the old, sick, disabled, orphans and unemployed - was based on a series of Acts of Parliament passed during the later Tudor period. These laws imposed an obligation on every parish to take care of its poor, though this had much less to do with compassion than with the need to preserve order and stability.
New legislation attempted to improve aspects of the Poor Law, but left everything to local initiative. By the end of the 1790s there were clear signs that the system was under severe strain. Increasing numbers of parish poor were seeking assistance and the cost to ratepayers of maintaining the system was rising alarmingly, especially as payments were linked to the rising costs of bread and the size of families. There was also evidence that poor law payments were being used by employers to 'top up' wages.
Quote:The Poor Law system fell into decline at the beginning of the 20th century owing to factors such as the introduction of the Liberal welfare reforms[7] and the availability of other sources of assistance from friendly societies and trade unions,[7] as well as piecemeal reforms which bypassed the Poor Law system.[8] The Poor Law system was not formally abolished until the National Assistance Act 1948,[9] with parts of the law remaining on the books until 1967.[6]
Just to be clear - the parish is still the local administrative area. although not everywhere has a parish as an administrative unit any more.
The connection to the church is historical, and has nothing to do with the job of the parish council or parish employees. The next level up is the borough, then county.
eg
a job desription
Quote:COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL
APPOINTMENT OF PARISH CLERK AND RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER
SCP 30 – 34 £26,822 – £30,153 pro rata (30 hours)
Applications are invited to fill the role of Clerk to the Council and Responsible Financial Officer. Working with elected Councillors, the Clerk plays a leading part in implementing policy, delivering local services & developing new projects. The role involves dealing with local planning applications and managing community facilities including Cookham Cemetery, Allotments, Recreation Ground, Footpaths and Streetlighting. Excellent communication skills are required for regular dealings with members of the public, local groups and organisations and liaison with the Borough Council. Applicants will need the ability to gain an extensive knowledge of local government law and finance, and the organisation of Council affairs. Ideally you will hold, or be willing to undertake, the CILCA (Certificate in Local Council Administration) qualification.
