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NCTJ Public Affairs > Government > Flashcards

Government Flashcards

1
Q

Types of local council

A
  • District councils (201)
  • Unitary authorities (55)
  • London boroughs (32)
  • County councils (27)
  • Metropolitan districts (36)
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2
Q

Two-tier authority

A

two tiers of local governance - usually county and district/borough
- most were around until 1990s, after that they merged to unitary authorities

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3
Q

Hybrid authority

A

where two-tier and unitary authorities co-exist

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4
Q

unitary authority

A

integrated approach to local governance
- run all local services
- most were created after 1990s mergers

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5
Q

combined authority

A

where the resources of 2 or more councils are put together to allow neighbouring councils to collaborate
- additional funding
- eg manchester

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6
Q

metropolitan district

A

govern cities
- basically unitary authorities in bigger areas
- eg manchester

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7
Q

central government vs local government

A

MP = councillor
Constituency = district/ward
Civil servant = officer
Cabinet secretary = chief executive
House of commons = council chamber
PM = no equivalent (maybe leader if there is one)

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8
Q

constitution

A

a system of fundamental principles
- recognised and accepted by civilians
- written or unwritten (eg USA written, UK unwritten)

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9
Q

UK unwritten constitution

A

statutes, common law, treaties, treatises
- Magna Carta: Charter of rights established by King John in 1215
- Bill of Rights (part of Parliament Act 1689)

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10
Q

parliamentary sovereignty

A

constitutional supremacy to parliament
- Bill of Rights 1689 gave parliament more powers than the king

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11
Q

constitutional monarchy

A

sovereign exercises power within limits set by constitution - prerogative powers

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12
Q

seperation of powers

A

executive = government (governs country)
legislature = parliament (debates laws)
judiciary = courts (decide whether laws are being followed)

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13
Q

parliamentary privilege

A

MPs can make accusations in houses without fear of prosecution for defamation (BoR 1689)
- the word ‘liar’ became unnaceptable during Brexit 2019

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14
Q

case law

A

laws decided on a case by case basis that become part of the constitution

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15
Q

treatises

A

texts written by scholars that gain such high status/regard that they become part of the constitution

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16
Q

treaties

A

international agreements
- eg NATO
- most are ‘membership agreements’ and not legally binding (countries can opt out)
- most are not part of the constitution

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17
Q

sources of funding the monarchy

A
  • privy purse
  • sovereign grant
  • personal income
18
Q

privy purse

A

income generated from the estate of the duchy of Lancaster - owned by the monarch
- worth £201m in 2017/18

19
Q

sovereign grant

A

a tax-funded payment
- civil list and grants-in-aid
- covers day to day expenses and funding
- worth £86.3m in 2024-25

20
Q

royal’s personal income

A

royals are free to work and earn income
- must pay income tax on it
- eg William and Harry part of the armed forces

21
Q

devolution

A

the transfer/delegation of powers to a lower level, essentially by central government to local/regional administration

22
Q

Government of Scotland Act 1998

A

Scotland received devolved powers over governance in country
- there were 2 more acts in 2012 and 2016)
- SNP gaining majority in Scotland
- established the Scottish parliament

23
Q

Government of Wales Act 2006

A

gave Wales devolved powers
- there were 2 more acts in 2014 and 2017
- established National Assembly for Wales

24
Q

Northern Ireland devolution

A

peace agreement with DUP and Sinn Fein in 2007
- Northern Ireland received devolved powers

25
Q

house of commons

A

first ‘lower’ house of parliament
- 650 members (elected)
- primary legislative chamber
- prime ministers questions

26
Q

members of parliament

A
  • represent a constituency
  • usually belong to a party
  • hold seats for 5 years
  • shadow cabinet (opposition MPs)
  • backbenchers
27
Q

house of lords

A

second ‘upper’ house of parliement
- 800 members (not elected)
- 26 lords spiritual

28
Q

primary legislation

A
  • public bills (affect whole population)
  • private bills (affect specific areas of population)
  • hybrid bills (mix of two)
  • private members bills (not introduced through government)
29
Q

secondary legislation

A

powers which are given to ministers by acts of parliament allowing them to enact laws
- statutory instrument

30
Q

chancellor of exchequer

A

oversees spending commitments
- manages fiscal policy, tax levels, investment into public services, national debt, the budget

31
Q

how laws are made

A
  1. first reading in the house of commons (title)
  2. second reading in hoc (principles and vote)
  3. committee stage (discussed in detail)
  4. report stage (committee amendments)
  5. third reading in hoc (final time in commons)
  6. goes to house of lords (amendments)
  7. amendments made by hol put to hoc and agreed on
  8. bill given royal assent by monarch
32
Q

hansard

A

‘substantially verbatim’ report of what is said in parliament

33
Q

e-petitions

A

members of the public can petition to house of commons and press for action
- 100,000 signatures are needed to debate

34
Q

whips

A

MPs or members of house of lords appointed by a party to organise business and ensure voting the right way
- 3 line whip = underlining it 3 times, means it is urgent to attend vote (defying can lead to being expelled)

35
Q

european union

A
  • 27 states
  • 449 million people
  • used to be eec (european economic community)
36
Q

rights of journalists

A
  • local government act 1985 = press and public have access to all council, committee and subcommittee meetings (unless info is confidential)
  • local government act 2000 = limited press and public right to access meetings with ‘executive’ style decision making
  • local government act 2011 = made councils hold all meetings in public (unless confidential)
37
Q

‘confidential’ information in council meetings

A
  • national security
  • crime prevention
  • negotiations
  • info protected by legal privilege
  • commercial/personally sensitive info
  • secret government info/info legally prohibited by official secrets act
38
Q

freedom of information act 2000

A

provides public access to info from public authorities
- obliged to publish certain info
- public entitled to request info (began in 2005)

39
Q

environmental information regulations act 2004

A

public access to information about state of environment and hazards

40
Q

the public interest

A
  • detecting or exposing crime or threat of
  • protecting public health and safety
  • protecting public from being misled by an individual or organisation
  • disclosing failure or likely failure to comply with an obligation
  • disclosing a miscarriage of justice
41
Q

making an FOI request

A
  • check if info is already in public domain
  • must be in writing (email/letter)
  • include name and address
  • specific and clear to authority
  • they have 20 days to respond
42
Q

elections

A
  • held every 5 years
  • MPs represent constituencies
  • first past the post system = overall majority is needed (326 seats in house of commons)
  • person with the most votes wins constituency, party with the most seats/constituencies wins the election

NCTJ Public Affairs (10 decks)

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