... hoped to reduce the financial burden on ratepayers. These aims can be seen in the terms of the act, through the creation of the central Poor Law Board and the introduction of the idea of 'less eligibility' which would allow local authorities to reduce costs by providing poorer living conditions to discourage relief claimants. The commission recommended the establishment of the central Poor Law Board to co-ordinate relief on a national scale. In 1831, there were over 15,000 parishes, very few of which had amalgamated into Poor Law unions; some were using outdoor relief, others the Speenhamland system, and Indoor relief was also employed. Senior and Chadwick believed that a centrally controlled system would be more cost-efficient through the use of economies of scale, and that the level of provision would also be standardised; leading to an overall drop in conditions inside workhouses and therefore a drop in overall ...

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