democracy - power and decision making Flashcards
1
Q
what is devolution?
A
the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government (westminister) to local or regional administration (holyrood)
2
Q
what are examples of devolved powers?
A
- health
- education
- law and order
3
Q
what are examples of reserved powers?
A
- defence
- UK foreign policy
- immigration and nationality
4
Q
describe health
A
- one devolved power is health
- this means the scottish government can make decisions regarding the NHS to prioritise the health of scottish people
- for example in 2018 the scottish government introduced a minimum price of 50p per unit to reduce alcohol consumption and improve health
5
Q
describe law and order
A
- one devolved power is law and order
- the scottish government can make decisions and changes on and about law and order without having to consult westminister
- for example the law on fire and smoke alarms has changed which means all scottish homes need interlinked alarms as of february 2022
6
Q
describe education
A
- one devolved power is education
- the scottish government can make decisions regarding education as scottish has a seperate education system from the rest of the UK
- for example, the Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for scottish schools
7
Q
what are the key features of a democracy?
A
- government is elected by the people
- free speach is supported
- we have many political rights
8
Q
describe, in detail, the key features of a democracy
A
- a key feature of a democracy is that the government is elected by the people
- people in scotland have been free to choose who they want to run the country by voting in elections without intimidation.
- for example, millions of people over the age of 16 voted in the 2021 scottish parliament elections which decided the SNP were to run the country
- another key feature of a democracy is that free speech is supported
- this means that scottish citizens are free to express themselves however they like, with some restrictions like not being able to use hate speech, encourage violenve or tell damaging lies
- for example, many people have been both supportive and critical of how nicola sturgeon handled the covid 19 pandemic and put their views online, in newspapers and on TV without the government stopping them
- another key feature of a democracy is that we have many political rights
- political rights are the rights that allow citizens to participate in the politics of scotland and how decisions are made
- for example, a political right in scotland that many people have used has been to protest and make viwes known to leaders on issues such as independence and climate change
9
Q
who is the current first minister?
A
Humza Yousaf
10
Q
what are the roles of the first minister?
A
- to lead the scottish government
- to represent scotland
- to appoint cabinet ministers
11
Q
describe, in detail, the roles of the first minister
A
- a role of the FM is to lead the scottish government
- the FM makes the final decision on what each of the departments of governments do in devolved areas such as health and education
- for example humza yousaf was responsible for the introduction of a LEZ (low emmition zone) in glasgow
- another role of the FM is to represent scotland
- as the head of the scottish government it is their responsibility to speak and act on behalf of scotland in areas that are devolved to ensure that the voices of scotlands people are heard internationally
- for example, at his first meeting with PM rishi sunak, yousaf requested a second independence referendum
- another role of the first minister is to appoint cabinet ministers
- this means that the FM has the power to appoint cabinet members to head office positions in departments such as health and education
- for example, in 2023 jenny gilruth was appointed cabinet secretary for education
12
Q
why is the first minister powerful?
A
- he can appoint and remove cabinet members
- he is in charge of the scottish government
13
Q
why is the first minister not powerful?
A
- the FM is only responsible for devolved matters
- the FM must make deals with other parties to pass bills
14
Q
explain, in detail, why the first minister is powerful
A
- the first reason why the first minister is powerful is because he can appoint and remove cabinet menbers
- humza yousaf has full control over who is in charge of what department and if he feels someone can do the job better, he has the power to remove and replace them with someone else
- for example, when humza yousaf first became the FM he replaced shirley ann sommerville with jenny gilruth as education secretary
- another reason why the first minister is powerful is because he is incharge of the scottish government
- humza yousaf is incharge of setting government priorities and has the final say in government
- for example, some priorities of humza yousaf are to reduce poverty and strengthen public services
15
Q
explain, in detail, why the first minister is not powerful
A
- one reason why the first minister could be deemed as not powerful is because they are only incharge of devolved matters
- the first minister can only make decisions about issues that are devolved and have no power over reserved matters
- for example during the Covid-19 Pandemic Scotland couldn’t close their borders to international travel as only Westminster and the Prime Minister have that power
- another reason why the first minister could be deemed as not powerful is because sometimes they have to agree deals with other parties to pass bills
- when the party incharge doesn’t have a majority of MSPs in the scottish parliament the FM has to agree deals with smaller parties showing where they lack power
- for example in order to retain the support of the greens, the SNP government had to agree to develop at least one new national park by the end of the parlimentary session
