Special Areas (Development and Improvement) Act 1934

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The Special Areas (Development and Improvement) Act 1934 was an Act of Parliament which gave aid to the areas of Britain which had the highest unemployment rates in the 1930s.[1]

Special Areas (Development and Improvement) Act 1934
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to provide for the initiation, organisation, prosecution and assistance of measures designed to facilitate the economic development and social improvement of certain areas which have been specially affected by industrial depression; for the appointment of Commissioners for those purposes; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 1
Dates
Royal assent21 December 1934
Other legislation
Amended bySpecial Areas (Amendment) Act 1937

Areas which benefited included South Wales, Tyneside, Cumberland and southern Scotland; but not Lancashire.[2] There were two unpaid commissioners, one for Scotland, one for England and Wales, given responsibility to spend £2 million via the local authorities concerned. A further £3 million was added in 1936, and £3.5 million was included in the estimates for 1937. "The powers of the commissioners included a wide range of activities on general economic development and on social improvement in the Special Areas, but they were expressly precluded by Parliament from giving assistance to private enterprise carried on for gain".[3]

The subject of the Special Areas was a main election issue at the 1935 General Election.[4]

The Special Areas (Amendment) Act 1937 extended the Act.

References

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  1. ^ Thomas, Jo; Willis, Michael (2016). Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition 1906-1957. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-19-835459-8.
  2. ^ Rees, Rosemary. Britain, 1890-1939. p. 164. ISBN 0-435-32757-7.
  3. ^ National Archives catalogue, Series reference MH 61
  4. ^ A. J. P. Taylor, English History 1918-1945 p. 383