Shannon W Unit 1: Government, policies and public services P1,P2,M1,D1
European Union- The European Union is the highest level of Government and is an economic and
political association of 27 European countries. It was created after WW2 to try and stop another war
happening amongst European countries. It mainly promotes peace, free trade, free movement of
people and Human rights between the EU countries. Any of the laws that are passed by the EU have
to be followed by the public services of the member countries, for example the UK.
The European Parliament is the European Union’s law making body and although it isn’t strictly part
of the UK level of government, it has a large impact on EU citizens and their public services. The roles
and responsibilities of the European parliament is to draft legislations (or laws) that will have an
impact across all of the European Union states which cover issues such as; equal opportunities,
transport, consumer rights, movement of workers and goods and the environment.
The European Union has a ‘far reaching’ impact on several factors relating to the public services such
as management, funding, delivery and supply chain. Personally, I think that the EU is funding the UK
public services fairly because the UK receives £4.1 billion from the EU for the public services.
Devolved Governments- A devolved government is a proposed institution that gives separate
decision making powers to each of the small, individual parliaments within the UK which enables
them to make laws that are more relevant to their people. The three small parliaments of the UK
are; the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the N.I (Northern Ireland) Assembly.
Scottish Parliament- The Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland act in 1998 and they
are now able to deal with devolved matters such as; education, health, environment, civil and
criminal law, housing and local government. Due to the Scottish parliament being self-contained, it
doesn’t have to go through the UK parliament in order to pass laws. It sets its own criminal laws and
taxes for Scotland as well as been given the power to introduce new laws for a wide range of issues.
Unlike England, Scotland has made up laws which include no prescription fees, no parking fees and
no university fees.
Welsh Assembly- The Welsh assembly was established by the government of Wales act in 1998. The
Welsh assembly has a total of 60 members. It is the devolved parliament of Wales and it is
democratically elected by the people of Wales. It has the power to make legislation, vary taxes and
scrutinise the Welsh government; however, it doesn’t have the power to make criminal laws or set
its own taxes. Similar to the Scottish Parliament, it controls the NHS and education budget. The
Welsh Assembly also deals with transport, health, education and the environment. One major
difference between the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly is that Wales doesn’t have
jurisdiction over its own criminal and civil law because it is subject to the English Law. Jurisdiction
basically means whether they have official power to make legal decisions and judgments and in this
case, Wales does not.
The Northern Ireland Assembly- The Northern Ireland Assembly was created by the Northern
Ireland act in 1998 and it is responsible for education, health, housing and agriculture. Unlike
Scotland, England or Wales, Northern Ireland has the army deployed onto the streets due to the
tension between the Catholics and Protestants across Ireland as a whole and the police are armed at
all times. Having armed police patrolling the streets has helped reduce the amount of terrorism that
took place. There are a total of 108 members which include 6 representatives from each of the 18
constituencies in Northern Ireland. Like other devolved governments, it has a first minister, who is
European Union- The European Union is the highest level of Government and is an economic and
political association of 27 European countries. It was created after WW2 to try and stop another war
happening amongst European countries. It mainly promotes peace, free trade, free movement of
people and Human rights between the EU countries. Any of the laws that are passed by the EU have
to be followed by the public services of the member countries, for example the UK.
The European Parliament is the European Union’s law making body and although it isn’t strictly part
of the UK level of government, it has a large impact on EU citizens and their public services. The roles
and responsibilities of the European parliament is to draft legislations (or laws) that will have an
impact across all of the European Union states which cover issues such as; equal opportunities,
transport, consumer rights, movement of workers and goods and the environment.
The European Union has a ‘far reaching’ impact on several factors relating to the public services such
as management, funding, delivery and supply chain. Personally, I think that the EU is funding the UK
public services fairly because the UK receives £4.1 billion from the EU for the public services.
Devolved Governments- A devolved government is a proposed institution that gives separate
decision making powers to each of the small, individual parliaments within the UK which enables
them to make laws that are more relevant to their people. The three small parliaments of the UK
are; the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the N.I (Northern Ireland) Assembly.
Scottish Parliament- The Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland act in 1998 and they
are now able to deal with devolved matters such as; education, health, environment, civil and
criminal law, housing and local government. Due to the Scottish parliament being self-contained, it
doesn’t have to go through the UK parliament in order to pass laws. It sets its own criminal laws and
taxes for Scotland as well as been given the power to introduce new laws for a wide range of issues.
Unlike England, Scotland has made up laws which include no prescription fees, no parking fees and
no university fees.
Welsh Assembly- The Welsh assembly was established by the government of Wales act in 1998. The
Welsh assembly has a total of 60 members. It is the devolved parliament of Wales and it is
democratically elected by the people of Wales. It has the power to make legislation, vary taxes and
scrutinise the Welsh government; however, it doesn’t have the power to make criminal laws or set
its own taxes. Similar to the Scottish Parliament, it controls the NHS and education budget. The
Welsh Assembly also deals with transport, health, education and the environment. One major
difference between the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly is that Wales doesn’t have
jurisdiction over its own criminal and civil law because it is subject to the English Law. Jurisdiction
basically means whether they have official power to make legal decisions and judgments and in this
case, Wales does not.
The Northern Ireland Assembly- The Northern Ireland Assembly was created by the Northern
Ireland act in 1998 and it is responsible for education, health, housing and agriculture. Unlike
Scotland, England or Wales, Northern Ireland has the army deployed onto the streets due to the
tension between the Catholics and Protestants across Ireland as a whole and the police are armed at
all times. Having armed police patrolling the streets has helped reduce the amount of terrorism that
took place. There are a total of 108 members which include 6 representatives from each of the 18
constituencies in Northern Ireland. Like other devolved governments, it has a first minister, who is
