Unit 1 The Role & Work of the Public Services Flashcards
Keywords, Roles & responsibilities,
What does accountability mean?
Being answerable for your actions or decisions
What does remit mean?
A task or number of activities assigned to an individual or organisation
What does tender mean?
A bid or proposal that contains information about services & costings a company plans to provide
What does scrutiny mean?
Careful & detailed examination of something in order to get information about it
What are regulators?
Organisations that check the Public Services are doing their jobs to a required standard
What does effective mean?
successful in producing a desired or intended result
What does efficiency mean?
Accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort.
What does legacy mean?
Something handed down from the past such as money or an idea, perhaps from an ancestor or predecessor.
What does meeting objectives mean?
Achieving a specific result within a time frame & with available resources
What do performance measures mean?
The measurement of outcomes & results, which generates reliable data on the effectiveness & efficiency of something.
What are statutory services?
Tasks & responsibilities that must be carried out by law, not by choice
What are non-statutory services?
Tasks carried out by choice & not formally required by law.
What does statutory mean?
Required by law
What does non-statutory mean?
Isn’t required by law
What are contracted-out services (outsourcing)?
When a Public Service contracts a private company to provide a service on it’s behalf.
What is means testing?
Individuals & Families have their income assessed & receive a service if their income is below a specific amount. For example they then receive free prescriptions.
What does universal access mean?
A free service for ALL members of the Public to use. / Every one has access
What does charging mean?
Individuals are charged directly for a particular Public Service (car parking in local authority car parks)
What is taxation and what is it used for?
A means by which governments finance their expenditure by imposing charges on citizens & corporations.
What is the Public Health Services (PHS) 3 main aims?
Aim to prevent disease, prolong life & promote health through the organised efforts of society.
What is parliament?
A group of people & organisations which govern a country. In the UK, this is made up of the Queen, House of Lords & the House of Commons.
What is The Home Office?
A governmental department in Great Britain dealing with domestic matters, such as elections & the control of police.
What is an incident?
Anything that requires attention by the Public Services. It could be a fire, a serious RTC or a fight outside a bar.
What does devolve mean?
To transfer power from Central Government to Regional Government.
What is a complement?
Add to something (such as a service) in a way which enhances or improves it.
What is excise duty?
A tax on the sale of goods within a country.
What does prosecute mean
To carry out legal proceedings against someone.
What is probation?
The period of time after an offender is released, when they are supervised & must show good behaviour.
What is custody?
In the justice system, this means imprisonment.
What is inheritance?
The passing on of property, titles or money after someone has died.
What does innovative mean?
New or different ways of doing things.
What is partniship devlivery?
When public servises work together
What are the 5 main sectors of the public services?
- Emergency services
- Armed Services
- Central Government
- Local Authorities
- Voluntary Services / Third Sector
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the Emergency Services?
• Respond quickly and effectively in case of
incident, accident or emergency.
• To prevent incidents (crime, public disorder,
fire, accident and injury)
What are the 3 roles and responsibilities of the Armed Forces?
- To defend the UK.
- To support international peacekeeping duties
- To support the civil authorities
What is the 1 role and responsibility of Local Authorities?
• To provide public services to specific geographical areas (including education, social services, child protection, leisure, environmental services, infrastructure)
What is the 1 role and responsibility of the Central Government?
• To administer the work of government departments and agencies; to report to government ministers.
What is the 1 role and responsibility of the voluntary sector / third sector?
• To work with public sector organisations; to support the work of public sector organisations (non-emergency services, health services, justice services), mostly provided by volunteers.
What are the 14 roles and responsibilities of the police? (#= easy to remember)
Provide advice & information on personal safety & protection of property
# Hold people in custody
# Manage/respond to major incidents
# Give evidence in court
• Improve community relations
• Reduce fear of crime by maintaining a visible presence on the streets
• Work in partnership with other services to reduce & prevent crime
• Educational visits to Schools/Colleges
• Licensing firearms
• Refer victims of crime to support agencies
• Conduct underwater searches
• File missing person reports
• Escort abnormal loads
• Deal with public protests
What are the 10 roles and responsibilities of the Fire and Rescue Service? (#= easy to remember)
Promote fire safety
# Ensure fire prevention
# Give first aid at scenes of accidents
# Offer fire safety advice in the home
• Respond to road, rail & air traffic accidents
• Manage disasters & respond to floods
• Handle incidents involving hazardous materials
• Give evidence in court
• Preserve evidence at the scene of deliberate fires (arson)
• Deal with terrorist incidents if required
What are the 9 roles and responsibilities of the Ambulance Service? (#= easy to remember)
# Patient transport # Emergency call handlers # Non-emergency patient transfer # Transfer of patients between hospitals • Emergency care assistants • Medical dispatchers • Delivery of first aid courses • Clinical staffing for air ambulances • Decontamination of casualties
What are the 6 services that make up the Armed Services?
- The British Army
- The Royal Navy (RN)
- The Royal Air Force (RAF)
- The Army Reserve
- The Royal Navy Reserve
- The RAF Reserve
What are the army reserves?
A back up force that can be called upon during times of conflict or crisis. Which consist of people with day jobs that are willing to train as soldiers, sailors, or pilots in their spare time.
Why do we need Local Authorities?
Local areas have different requirements, so central government would find it difficult to operate services nationally. Services are best delivered locally by people who know & understand the area.
What are the 4 sections of the Local Authority?
- County Council
- District, borough & City Councils
- Unitary Authorities
- Parish & Town Councils
What area are county councils responsible for and, what are the 8 roles and responsibilities of the county councils? (examples of the services)
County Councils are responsible for services across the whole of the county. Roles and responsibilities: • Planning • Transport • Libraries • Social Care • Waste Management • Trading standards • Public Safety • Education
What area is covered by District, Borough & City Councils, and what are the 4 roles and responsibilities?
District, Borough & City Councils cover areas smaller than counties, and report to county councils Roles and responsibilities: • Tax collection • Recycling • Refuse collection • Housing
What are Unitary Authorities?
Large local authorities which carry out all the duties of both county & district councils
What level are Parish & Town Councils responsible for. What are the 7 roles and responsibilities?
Parts of the local government that work below the level of district councils. Roles and responsibilities: • Community centers • Allotments • Bus shelters • Play areas • Litter •Graffiti • Neighbourhood planning
What level of government is central government?
Highest / top level of government
Where is the central government based?
- In the UK, central Government is based at Westminster in the Houses of Parliament.
- In addition, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland have Devolved National Parliaments.
Devolved = To transfer power from Central Government to Regional Government
Who is the central government made up of?
Central Government is made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MP’s). Each one represents a geographical region of the UK called a constituency.
Central Government has a number of departments or ministries that undertake specific jobs. There are 25 ministries in total such as the Department for Education (DfE).
- Each Department has a minister in charge who reports to the Prime Minister on the work of that Department.
- Ministers are directly related to Armed, Emergency, Non-Emergency & Voluntary Sectors of the Public Services.
What are the 7 (need to know) depertments of Government?
- Ministry of Defence
- Home Office
- Department for Communities & Local Government
- Department for Education
- Department for Health
- Foreign & Commonwealth Office
- Ministry of Justice
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of defence?
- Responsible for the security of the UK.
* Responsible for all three Armed Services & their reserves.
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the Home Office?
- Leads on combating crime, counterterrorism & border control.
- Responsible for public services such as the Police Service, the Security Service (MI5), UK Visas & Immigration & Border Force.
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the Department for Communities & Local Government?
- Responsible for the delivery of services through local councils, including refuse collection, children’s services & social housing.
- Responsible for the 46 Fire & Rescue Authorities, the Fire & Rescue Service sits within this department.
What is the 1 role and resresponsibility of the Department for Education?
• Responsible for education & children’s services, which includes all schools & colleges dealing with students under the age of 19.
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the department of health?
- Responsible for GP surgeries, hospitals, disease control & prevention, & the Ambulance Service.
- Acts to ensure we can live better & longer lives
What are the 4 Roles and responsibilities of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office?
- Responsible for intelligence services such as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS & MI6) & Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
- Supports British overseas interests as well as British citizens living, working or on holiday abroad.
- Works to combat overseas terrorism & reduce international conflict.
- Works closely with the MOD when the UK is involved in overseas conflict.
What are the 2 roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice?
- Responsible for the courts, Prison Service & National Probation Service (PHS)
- Works to reduce criminal behaviour & reoffending
What services do the voluntary/third sector usually support?
- Emergency Services
- Social Services
- Health Services
What are 5 examples of volutary/third sector organisations that support government public service organisations?
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) • Mountain & Cave Rescue Services • Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) • The British Red Cross • St John Ambulance etc.
What are the 2 services do the RNLI provide?
- 24-hour search & rescue services
* beach lifeguard services
What do the Mountain and Cave Services do?
Operate in mountainous parts of the country and large cave networks, rescuing lost or injured people.
What do the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) do?
Helps older people stay active & engaged with their local community.
What is the British Red Cross do?
Humanitarian organisation that provides support such as first aid training, emergency response, disaster preparation & refugee support
What do the St. John Ambulance do? (2 bullit points)
- Provides First Aid Training to individuals for volunteers acting as back up to the Ambulance Service as First Responders.
- Provide First Aid cover at public events
What 4 examples of Social Services do the Voluntary/Third Sector organisations support?
• National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children • Shelter • Women’s Aid • Samaritans etc.
What 3 examples of Health Services do the Third sector support?
• British Heart Foundation
• Mind (supports people who suffer from mental health issues.)
• Cancer Research UK
etc.
What are 6 advantages of contracting-out / outsourcing?
- Can be cost effective
- Can improve efficiency
- Can create increased flexibility
- Can reduce management & administrative burdens
- Can reduce the need for capital investments in equipment
- Can provide access to expert skills & innovative ways of working
What are 6 disadvantages of contracting-out / outsourcing?
- Can lead to fraud & corruption in the awarding of contracts
- May meet resistance from unions who feel that contracting out services erodes (break/destroy) workers’ terms & conditions.
- Work can be of inferior (poor/low) quality
- The focus is on profit rather than the quality of the service
- The lowest bid usually wins, regardless of quality
- Can increase costs if not carefully monitored
What 2 government departments are responsible for education and what age group is each responsible for?
- Department for Education - 5 - 18 year olds (Primary, junior, secondary & further education (FE) colleges
- Department for Business, Innovation & Skills - adults & apprentices, includes FE colleges, universities & private training providers
What are 7 examples of services the NHS provides?
- Hospitals
- Dental surgeries
- Clinics
- Optical services
- GP surgeries
What are 4 examples of Public Health Services?
- Sexual health clinics
- Alcohol services
- Drugs education
- Advice on stopping smoking
What are 3 examples of the Public Health services educating the public of making sensible & informed choices about their health in order to minimise the risk of illness?
- Change4life - Fitness & healthy eating
- Cancer awareness
- Stoptober - Smoking
What are 4 responsibilities of The Home Office?
- Police Service
- UK Visas & Immigration - (visa applications & applications for asylum)
- UK Boarders (Force) - (Checks travellers’ immigration statuses & searches for illegal goods or immigrants)
- Elections
What is Her Majesties Treasury?
The Government’s finance department.
What are 8 roles and responsibilities of HM Treasury?
- Tracks & manages public spending.
- Sets budgets for other government departments
- Tax collection (& is therefore responsible for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [HMRC])
- Excise duties
- National insurance
- Tax credits
- Child benefit
- Enforcement of the National minimum wage
What are the 7 services the Social Services provide?
- Social care to vulnerable adults & children
- Family support
- Support to carers
- Residential care
- Child protection
- Fostering
- Adoption
What are the 2 different court cases the justice system deal with?
- Civil issues
* Criminal issues
What are a civil issues?(In terms of the Justice System)
One individual takes another individual to court for compensation for a civil matter, such as a company suing a customer for failing to pay their bill.
(Dispute)
What are criminal issues? (In terms of the Justic System)
The state or government takes an individual to court for breach of criminal law & seeks punishment for the crime. For example someone being prosecuted for murder.
What are the 7 services in the Justice system?
- The Police Service – investigate crime
- Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – Prosecute criminal cases
- Courts – Try civil & criminal cases
- Lawyers – Represent the people accused & victims of crime
- Her Majesty’s Prison Service – Keep sentenced people in custody.
- The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) – enforces the decisions of the court & ensures people serve their sentence. NOMS includes the National Probation Service.
- Prison service
What are 4 roles and responsibilities does the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have?
- Defra works to reduce pollution & waste.
- Responds to emergencies such as floods.
- Supported by local authorities which operate local waste management & environment health departments.
- Protects the environment, as pollution & waste have a negative effect on people’s health & life expectancy.
What are 3 reasons for Public Services to work together?
- They need to be as efficient as possible
- Deliver the best value for money
- Deliver the best value fo service
What are the 5 reasons the Public Services share information & intelligence when coordinating both planned & unplanned small scale & Major events?
To address issues of…..
•Ensuring continuity of business and day-to-day activities – Services have a responsibility to ensure people & businesses can go about their day-to-day activities. Regardless of the incident or situation, everyday life brings.
• Effective utilisation of resources – Share information so they can use their resources effectively.
• Meeting objectives – Each Public Service sets their own objectives, while also meeting objectives set by the government.
• Public health & safety – Service share information to ensure the public are safe at large events.
• Prevention of crime & terrorism – information must be effectively shared to prevent crime & terrorism. If the ambulance is called to a suspected abuse case then they inform the police.
What are 6 incidents when working together facilitates (makes them easier) them?
- Assessing the situation
- Coordinate rescues
- Provide emergency medical care
- Maintain the security of the incident scene
- Keep the public away from the scene to ensure the rescue is not impeded
- Minimise the impact on the wider community
How does working together facilitate (makes it easier) assessing the situation?
The services work together to assess the situation & establish which task requires which service. This is practiced regularly.
