Levels of Government in the UK Learning Outcomes: Know what the different levels of Government are in the UK Begin to understand, and demonstrate understanding.

Levels of Government in the UK

Learning Outcomes:

• Know what the different levels of Government are in the UK

• Begin to understand, and demonstrate understanding of the different levels of Government

What are the levels of Government in the UK?

European Parliament

Central Government / Parliament

• House of Commons

• House of Lords

Devolved Parliaments

• The Scottish Parliament

• The Welsh Assembly

• The Northern Ireland Assembly

Regional Governments

• X 8 eg South East England Regional Assembly

Local Authorities

• County councils, District Councils, Parish Councils etc

Additional Learning Outcome!

• Demonstrate understanding of the other institutions in the government process

Assignment 1: Roles and Levels of Government

Task 1: Produce a Powerpoint presentation to provide information covering the following:

• outline the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK- European Parliament, Central Government, Devolved Parliament, Local Authorities, Regional Government and other Local Authorities.

• Other institutions in the government process eg the monarchy, House of Commons, House of Lords, branches of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial)

• Main roles at government levels eg prime minister, government ministers, members of parliament, mayors, council members

Pass, Merit or Distinction?

• P1: outline the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK

• M1: explain in detail the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK

• D1: evaluate the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK

Monarch

The UK is a constitutional monarchy, which means that our head of state is the current reigning monarch, although laws are generated and approved by an elected body – for us this is the Houses of Parliament.

The monarch is currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who has reigned since 1952, and her formal title in the UK is ’Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’.

The Queen has several important formal and ceremonial governmental roles, including:

• opening each new session of Parliament

• dissolving Parliament before a General Election

• appointment of the Prime Minister

• final approval of laws via ‘Royal Assent’

• appointment of peers

• advice and guidance to the Prime Minister.

House of Commons

A range of political views and interests are represented in the House of Commons. This enables the House to ensure that legislation and decisions are well debated by a variety of individuals holding different political views.

The majority party is called upon to form the government and this party sits to the right of the Speaker while the opposition and smaller parties sit on the left of the Speaker.

The House of Commons consists of 646 elected members of parliament (MPs) who represent a broad spectrum of political parties.

Each of the MPs represents a localised geographical area, called a constituency. Constituencies can change boundaries to become bigger or smaller or sometimes disappear altogether.

There are two ways in which an individual can be elected to the House of Commons. The first is through a general election, which is when representatives from all 646 constituencies are elected simultaneously, and the second is via a by-election.

A by-election happens when the current representatives of a constituency dies, retires or resigns and a new representative is needed for that constituency only.

A general election happens every five years or so, but a by-election can occur at any time.

The House of Lords

The House of Lords carries out a variety of roles, some of which are similar to the Commons, but some of which are quite different. The House of Lords used to be the highest level of court in the UK, but its role as a court have been taken over by the Supreme Court.

The House of Lords dates back to the fourteenth century and it has a long, distinguished and more recently, controversial history. The House of Lords can have a variable number of members, currently there are around 737, and a number of different types of Lords

• Life Peers. This title is for a lifetime only and not able to be passed on to the next generation. Life Peers are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and they make up the majority of the Lords. There are currently around 600 of them.

• Bishops and Archbishops. This title is for those who represent the Church of England. There are currently 25 sitting in the House of Lords. They pass their title onto the next most senior Bishop when they retire.

Branches of government

The UK is a liberal democracy. This means that we encourage competition and the minimal interference of the state. There are three forms of power involved in the running of a liberal democracy.

Legislative. This is the power to make laws. In the UK the body with legislative power is parliament. Parliament makes laws through a multi-stage process. In addition to the power to make new laws, parliament also has the legislative power to reform old laws.

Executive. This is the power to suggest new laws and ensure existing laws are implemented. This power is invested in government departments and the civil service who deal with the day to day running of the country. Laws are suggested via green papers, which open discussion about potential new laws and white papers, which set out blueprints for potential laws.

Judicial. This is the power to interpret the laws that have been made and make unbiased judgements on whether laws have been broken. This power is given to the court system and is implemented by judges in all courts in the UK.

These three powers work together to ensure the smooth running and stability of the nation.

Executive Legislative Judicial

Drafts Laws Approves Laws

Applies Laws

Branches of government

Levels of Government in the UK

Learning Outcomes:

• Know what the different levels of Government are in the UK

• Begin to understand, and demonstrate understanding of the different levels of Government

• Demonstrate understanding of the other institutions in the government process

Friday 23rd September 2011

Starter:

On your mini-whiteboard, identify the main role of each of the three branches of Government:

Executive Legislative Judicial

Drafts Laws Approves Laws

Applies Laws



• outline of the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK- European Parliament, Central Government, Devolved Parliament, Local Authorities, Regional Government and other Local Authorities.


• Main roles at government levels eg prime minister, government ministers, members of parliament, mayors, council members: London Assembly






Learning Outcomes

• Know the main roles at the various levels of Government

• Begin to understand the responsibilities of the various roles at each level of the Government

• Be able to demonstrate understanding within the context of the assignment





Quick Quiz!

1. What are the two main parts of Parliament?

House of Commons, House of Lords, the Monarch/Queen is considered to be the third main part

2. What ‘g’ is the name of the national election in which candidates compete to become an MP for a particular area?

General (election)

3. What is the key difference between how MPs and Peers get their jobs in Parliament?

MPs are elected and Peers are unelected

4. What ‘c’ is the name given to the areas in the UK each represented by a different MP?

Constituencies (bonus point for correct spelling)

5. What is the name of the MP who represents the area that our school is in?

Julian Lewis

House of Lords

UK Parliament at Westminster

House of Commons

Monarch (Queen)

• Members are often called ‘Peers’

• Around 750 in total

• They are unelected – they are nominated for being very good in their field, e.g. medicine, business, charity work, art, etc.

• Members are called MPs or ‘Members of Parliament’

• 650 in total

• They are elected - this happens at a general election

• Makes and changes laws• Debates important issues• Checks the work of the government (the Prime Minister and his Ministers). For example, how they are spending our taxes and whether they are keeping to the promises made at election time

Who are the ‘people’ that operate at the various levels of Government?

Today…

Quick Quiz!

1. Who is the current Prime Minister?

2. Which two parties make up the coalition government?

3. Who leads the main opposition party?

4. What is the name of the main opposition

party?

5. Who is the Deputy Prime Minister?

David Cameron

Ed Miliband

Nick Clegg

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.topnews.in/files/Liberal-Democrats.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.topnews.in/political-reviews/liberal-democrats&usg=__xCqziSPEiNYLovKhRcLbrGN3-5k=&h=218&w=300&sz=12&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=r0Af9OfFKdN_oM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dliberal%2Bdemocrats%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

What do these people do…. ???

What are their roles and responsibilities?

How do they become appointed?

A) My dustbins are only being collected once per fortnight and I would rather they were collected weekly.

D) The government wants to introduce a law to increase the voting age to 21. I disagree with this and think it should be lowered to 16.

F) Our nearest hospital is about to be closed despite lots of campaigns by the local people and council to keep it open.

E) My street is poorly lit with no streetlights. It makes it dangerous to walk home in the dark.

B) The local park is covered in graffiti. I have asked the council if they could clean it several times but have had no response.

C) I don’t think enough is being done to combat global warming. We should be using more renewable energy supplies.

MP or

local council?






F) Our nearest hospital is about to be closed despite lots of campaigns by the local people and council to keep it open.



In pairs….

A) My dustbins are only being collected once per fortnight and I would rather they were collected weekly.




F) Our nearest hospital is about to be closed despite lots of campaigns by local people and the council to keep it open.


MP

Local council






• prime minister

• government minister

• members of parliament

Research TaskIn groups you are to research each of the following roles. You are to find out how people are appointed to the role, what the role involves and the types of responsibilities they have.

You will share your findings with the rest of your group

Collaboration!!

• Join up with the person from the other group that researched the same role as you.

• Swap your research sheets

• Read your counter-parts notes

• Using the green pen, assess your counter-parts notes and advise them of anything that you feel they have missed

Team Work!!

• Re-join your group

• In turn, each of you will explain the role that you researched so that everyone in the class has an understanding of all of the roles






How much do you know about Government roles?

1. MP stands for Member of Politics.

False

(it stands for Member of Parliament)

2. An MP gets to represent their area of the UK (known as a constituency) by being elected (voted for) by the people who live in that area of the UK (known as the constituents).

True

3. An MP only represents the people who voted for them in their constituency.

False

(they represent everyone in their constituency)

4. The House of Commons is one part of the Houses of Parliament.

True

5. MPs from all the different parties meet up in the House of Commons to debate issues.

True

6. The Prime Minister is not an MP.

False

(They have to be elected in the same way)

7. Peers get a salary for their work in Parliament.

False

(They are unpaid but can claim expenses for the days they debate in Parliament. MPs are paid around £65,000 per year.)

8. The 20 or so most important ministers are called ‘the cupboard’

False

They are called ‘the cabinet’

9. Cabinet Ministers are selected by the Queen

False

They are selected by the Prime Minister

10. Addressing local issues such as refuse collection and street lighting are part of the role of a local MP

False

They are issues dealt with by the council

Starter

Sort the cards!!!

Learning Outcomes

• Know the main roles at the various levels of Government

• Begin to understand the responsibilities of the various roles at each level of the Government











Learning Outcomes

• Know the main government departments responsible for specific public services.

• Understand the accountabilities of specific public services and who the inspectorates and local organisations are


Assignment 1: Task 2Impressed with your presentation to Year 8, the Head of Sixth Form has asked you to put together a leaflet outlining the responsibilities of government departments and other levels of government for specific public services including;

• Ministry of Defence• Home Office• Ministry of Justice• Department of Communities and Local Government

Within this leaflet you need to outline the accountability of public services and who are the inspectorates used to monitor the public services eg HM inspectorates, local organisations.

This task will provide evidence for P2

Learning Outcomes

• Know the main government departments responsible for specific public services.

• Understand the accountabilities of specific public services and who the inspectorates and local organisations are


Assignment 1: Task 2

Impressed with your presentation to Year 8, the Head of Sixth Form has asked you to put together a leaflet outlining the responsibilities of government departments and other levels of government for specific public services including;




Since the uniformed public services are funded with public money and are designed to serve the needs of the public, it is important that there are checks and balances on their behaviour.

Some of the public services have tremendous power over the lives of individuals and it is essential that they are seen to act in a fair and consistent manner.

Equally, it is important to note that our public services cost billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money each year and the taxpayer has a right to know if that money is being used effectively.

Accountability of uniformed public services

The government recognises this and has set up a variety of inspectorates and monitoring commissions that are designed to establish whether the public services offer value for money and if they are effective in the job they are supposed to do.

These inspectorates may also offer the public the opportunity to make a complaint about poor or unfair treatment, which can then be investigated impartially by a complaints agency.

There are two main procedures for investigating and monitoring the public services, through:

• inspectorates

• local organisations

The Defence Vetting Agency (DVA)

Independent Police Complaints Commission. (IPCC)

Quality Care Commission (Health Care Commission)

HMI of Probation for England and Wales

HMI of Prisons for England and Wales

HMI of Constabulary for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (HMIC)

Inspectorates and HMIs are set up by the government on a national basis to ensure the smooth running of specified public services.

Inspectorates and HM Inspectorates (HMI)

Local organisations

Local organisations are also responsible for ensuring the quality and performance of the public services.

The Police Authority

Strategic Health Authorities (SHA)

Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA)

Assignment 1: Task 2

Impressed with your presentation to Year 8, the Head of Sixth Form has asked you to put together a leaflet outlining the responsibilities of government departments and other levels of government for specific public services including;




Levels of Government in the UK Learning Outcomes: Know what the different levels of Government are in the UK Begin to understand, and demonstrate understanding.

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