This meant that an individual had to be destitute to qualify for poor relief.
The developers of less eligibility were convinced that their actions were utilitarian in principle.
They had no problem with the aged and genuinely infirm who could not work under any circumstances (in reality, a fairly limited number).
Instead, they thought the problem was the larger numbers of the able-bodied who either could not or would not earn enough money to support themselves.
Bloy states that the separation of husbands and wives was the subject of "great hostility".