Download Acts of Parliament that have led to change

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Acts of Parliament that have led to change
1601 Poor Relief Act
After many monasteries were closed by Henry VIII, Parliament introduced
the Poor Relief Act in 1601 to support people who could not work. Later,
the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 encouraged the building of
workhouses to try to address the problems caused by the industrial
revolution. Old age pensions were introduced in 1905 and state-provided
welfare expanded in the decades that followed. In 1942, the Beveridge
report argued that the poor laws and other provision should be replaced
with a comprehensive welfare state. Those changes, including the
foundation of the NHS, were introduced by Parliament following the
Second World War. Campaigns to reform the welfare and health and social
care system continue.
1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act
In the 18th century, a brutal trade network transported kidnapped
Africans to European colonies in the Americas and Caribbean to work as
slaves. In 1787, campaigners, including former slaves, boycotted slaveproduced goods and petitioned Parliament. In Parliament, William
Wilberforce led the campaign to abolish the trade. Eventually, the massive
national campaign inside and outside Parliament led to Parliament
banning the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807, with slaves finally
being freed – with compensation for the slave owners, but not the slaves
- in 1838. The 2015 Modern Slavery Act tries to ensure that our slavery
laws are up to date and protect people from being exploited.
1833 Factory Act
In the early years of the industrial revolution, thousands of children
worked long hours in factories and mills in often dangerous conditions.
Campaigns such as the ten-hour movement called for reform, but child
labour laws were not enforced. That changed following the 1933 Factory
Act which introduced inspectors to prevent the employment of children
under nine years old and ensured the provision of some education.
Workers groups and others campaigned inside and outside Parliament to
extend laws about safety and working hours to adults in factories and
mines. Workplaces that used to be very dangerous places, gradually
became safer for employees. Employment and health and safety laws are
still regularly changed to take account of new ways of working.
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1965 Race Relations Act
In the 1950s, racial tensions surrounding the arrival of Commonwealth
immigrants to the UK led to calls for legislation to protect their rights.
Campaigns, such as the Bristol bus boycott, organised by Guy Bailey after
he was refused a job interview because he was black, and MPs raising the
experiences of their constituents in the House of Commons added to the
pressure on Parliament to pass the Race Relations Act 1965. The law was
extended in 1968 to criminalise discrimination in housing, training and
education and in the provision of goods and services. By the 2010
Equality Act, the focus had moved to a duty to promote equality, as well
as prosecute and prevent discrimination.
1967 Sexual Offences Act
In 1957, the Government were shocked when the Wolfenden report
recommended that homosexual relationships be decriminalised. After a
campaign in Parliament, homosexuality was legalised in England and
Wales in 1967 for men over 21 (the laws had not applied to women), but
it remained illegal in Scotland and Northern Ireland until the 1980s. Over
the next few decades, the UK Parliament changed more and more laws
that had discriminated against gay people and introduced measures to
ensure equal rights. Gay marriage became legal in most of the UK in
2014. Different rules in Northern Ireland mean that same-sex marriages
are recognised as civil partnerships, but not marriage.
1995 Disability Discrimination Act
For centuries, the state provided workhouses or asylums for disabled
people. Disabled people formed campaign groups to fight for their rights,
including better access to services and an end to employment
discrimination. In 1970, Parliament passed the Chronically Sick and
Disabled Persons Act, which legislated for equal access to recreation and
education facilities and said that local authorities had to provide care for
people in their own homes, but it did not cover discrimination. It took a
long campaign inside and outside Parliament before the first Disability
Discrimination Act was passed in 1995, but many felt that it did not go far
enough. It was strengthened in 2005 and replaced with the Equality Act in
2010. Disabled campaigners continue to push for equality and fair access.