HARD WORK.

POOR laws; PUBLIC welfare; BRITISH economic policy; UNEMPLOYED people; SPEENHAMLAND system; HISTORY of public welfare

The article discusses the historical background of poverty relief and the universal credit scheme in Great Britain. Topics explored include the social security policy of the British government for the benefit of unemployed and poor households in the region, comparison between the 1795 Speenhamland system and the 2013 universal credit program in terms of structure, and the prohibition of public assistance to employed people in the 1930s proposed by the Lancashire Public Assistance Committee.