| Description | After the 1834 Amendment Act, the newly formed Poor Law Commission became responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Act were carried out in each separate Union. The Act had given the Commission the power to issue orders and regulations suited to each Union, for the care and maintenance of the poor. However, the Commission was only ever meant to be a temporary measure, and in 1847 was replaced by the Poor Law Board, an authority more directly answerable to Parliament. In 1871, the Board was united with the Medical Department of the Privy Council Office and the Local Government branch of the Home Office, forming the Local Government Board. |