Problems with the PLC

• The autonomy given by parliament to the 3 commissioners was driven by the need to implement the Poor Law Amendment Act quickly and efficiently. It was always envisaged that the commissioners' power would be temporary, and the 1834 act limited the commission to 5 years. After 1839, the Commission's powers were renewed on an annual basis. However, after the 1842 opposition, parliament extended the commission's contract for a further 5 years to 1847.
• The Andover Scandal (1845-46) revealed the worst abuses of the workhouse system and the apparent lack of willingness of the commission to detect and correct such matters.
• The way the commission itself pilloried the assistant commissioner responsible for the Andover workhouse, Henry Parker, alarmed those who knew how administrators should be treated in problematic situations.
• The select committee revealed that there were considerable tensions within Somerset House, where the commission worked. Edwin Chadwick, for example, had never reconciled himself to the 'lowly' position of secretary and used the Andover scandal to attack his superiors.