They were also responsible for the banning of children being allowed in the poorhouses. Much of the criticism stemmed from the conditions of the poorhouses. It ran poorhouses and soup kitchens, as well as modern hospitals and other relief works. The new law allowed parishes to combine to operate poorhouses jointly, the so-called combination poorhouses. They also had more people confined to insane asylums and poorhouses than any other group. At many poorhouses/workhouses, men and women were split up with no communication between them. These poorhouses gave a place where they could be given shelter and daily meals. Poorhouses (as workhouses were generally known in Scotland) were organised at parish level. Poorhouses were then replaced with a different type of residential living for the elderly. Poorhouses continued to exist into the early 20th century despite the criticism they faced.