IV. POOR LAW. Statistics and Finance. NUMBER OF POOR. Poor at 15th May, 1921. The number of poor of all classes, including dependants in receipt of relief on the 15th May, 1921, was 100,169, of whom 83,771 were sane poor and 16,398 were poor other than sane (ie., lunatics and mental defectives). Of the sane poor (83,771) there were- ... (Including destitute able-bodied Receiving relief in poorhouses 73,364 or 87.58 per cent. 1,478 or 1.76 The poor other than sane (16,398) were distributed as followsIn asylums and institutions for Of the 100,169 poor persons relieved, 62,212 were paupers (in their own right), and 37,957 were dependants, including destitute able-bodied: 266 paupers and 1212 dependants. Of the 62,212 paupers relieved the sane numbered 45,814 or 73.64 per cent., and the others 16,398 or 26.36 per cent. Classifying the sane paupers (45,814) according to age 10,065 or 21.97 per cent. were 65 years of age and upwards; 28,242 or 61-64 per cent. were between the ages of (say) 14 and 65. Of the 7507 children relieved, 2224 were orphans, 994 were deserted, and 4289 were separated from their parents by order of the parish council or by law. 6586 children were boarded out, of whom 3074 were orphan and deserted children, and the remainder (3512) were children separated from their parents. 1764 or 26.78 per cent. of these children were placed with relatives and 4822 or 73-22 per cent. were under the care of strangers. These latter include cases in orphanages, industrial schools, or institutions other than poorhouses. Nearly 9 per cent. of the total poor relieved were natives of England and Ireland chargeable to Scotland, the total of this class being 8945, of whom 6717 were born in Ireland. COMPARISON BETWEEN NUMBER OF POOR IN 1921 AND Poor of All Classes. The following table shows the number of paupers and their dependants at 15th May in each of the last ten years, and the ratio of persons in receipt of parochial relief per 1000 of population : It will be observed that during the past year there has been an increase in the number of poor, including destitute able-bodied, of 12,301. The number of paupers has increased by 5585, 223 being poor other than sane, and dependants by 6716. On analysing the figures of sane poor according to age periods, it is found that the number of children other than dependants has varied as follows:-Orphan children, decrease of 49; deserted children, decrease of 26; children separated from their parents but not orphans or deserted children, increase of 152; giving a net increase of 77. The number of adult sane paupers has increased by 5285, there being an increase of 3953 in the number between 14 and 65 years of age and an increase of 1332 in those who were 65 years of age and upwards. The number of dependants shows an increase of 6716 made up as follows:-Adults 1134, children under 14 years of age 5582. Compared with 1868, the year of highest recorded pauperism, the number of poor per thousand population has fallen from 41 to 21 -a decrease of 20 per thousand population. The following table shows the number of poor relieved on the 15th January, 15th May and 15th September, during each of the last ten years: POOR RELIEVED. *The figures in italics relate to destitute able-bodied. * The figures in italics relate to destitute able-bodied. Sane Poor and Poor other than Sane. The number of sane poor and of poor other than sane at 15th May in each tenth year from 1868 to 1908 and in each year from 1912; the ratio which the sane poor and poor other than sane respectively bear to each thousand of the estimated population; and the ratio of poor other than sane per thousand of poor of all classes are shown in the following statement: + Prior to 1915 the figures relate to lunatic poor only. figures include certified mental defectives The figures in italics relate to destitute able-bodied. From 1915 the This table shows that during the past year there has been an increase of 12,078 in the number of sane poor, and an increase of 223 in the number of poor other than sane. M It is seen that since 1868 the sane poor have decreased from 130,446 to 83,771-a diminution from 40 per thousand to 17 per thousand of the estimated populations in these years-that is, taking the increase of population into account, there has been a relative decrease in the sane poor, in round numbers, of 57 per cent. During the same period the number of poor other than sane has increased from 5790 to 16,398, an increase from 18 to 34 per thousand of the estimated populations, or, allowing for the increased population, 89 per cent. The table also shows that the ratio of poor other than sane to the poor of all classes increased steadily to the year 1918, and although it has since declined it is now approximately 4 times what it was in 1868. Sane Poor-Outdoor and Indoor. A classification of the sane poor, showing the number of indoor poor (that is poor in poorhouses) and outdoor poor respectively on the 15th May in each tenth year from 1868 to 1908 and in each year from 1912 is given in the following table: * The figures in italics relate to destitute able-bodied. Pauper Children. The number of pauper children and the number boarded out as at 15th May during the last ten years are given below. The figures relate to children who are themselves paupers and are exclusive of children who are the dependants of paupers. * Includes cases boarded in orphanages, industrial schools, and institutions other than poorhouses. Aged Poor. Statistics of the sane poor of 65 years of age and upwards are given in Appendix XXXVII., Table I. The number at 15th May, 1921 was 10,574, of whom 10,065 were paupers and 509 dependants. At the corresponding date in 1920 the number was 9093, of whom 8733 were paupers and 360 dependants. The number of poor persons, excluding poor other than sane, aged 70 and upwards in receipt of relief from parish councils on 15th January and 15th September in each year since 1910 was as follows: The abnormal decrease subsequent to 1910 in the number of poor aged 70 years and upwards is the direct result of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1911. Receipt of ordinary poor relief, subsequent to 1st January, 1908, was a disqualification for the receipt of an old age pension up to 31st December, 1910. This disqualification was removed as from 1st January, 1911, and persons who had been in receipt of ordinary poor relief became qualified for an old age pension on the cessation of such relief. The increase from September, 1920 |