MIGRANTS, IMMIGRANTS AND WELFARE FROM THE OLD POOR LAW TO THE WELFARE STATE

Abstract

Under the Old Poor Law internal migrants moved from onejurisdiction to another when they crossed parochial boundaries. Following the PoorLaw Amendment Act of 1834 central government took an enlarged and expanding partin welfare. As it did so, the entitlement to welfare of immigrants from overseaswas scrutinised at a national level in a way that was analogous to the manner inwhich the status of internal migrants had previously been scrutinised at a parochiallevel. Having established this analogy, the essay asks whether the entitlement towelfare of outsiders improved or deteriorated over time and seeks to account for thebroad trends.