Hello, my name's Mrs. Tomassi, and I'm gonna be working through a review on your citizenship lesson today, so if you've got everything you need and you're all good to go, we can make a start.

Today's title is, How does devolved government operate in the UK? And this is part of the unit, Where does power reside in the UK? Hopefully by the end of the session today you'll be able to explain what devolution is, and its role in the UK today.

If we move on to some of the keywords that you're gonna see.

They'll be in bold throughout so you can refer back here.

We have four keywords today and they are centralization, which is when the central government makes decisions on the majority of issues.

We then have devolution, which also in terms of the title, and this is about the transfer of political powers from a central government or parliament to a national, regional, or local government or parliament.

You have devolved powers, which is issues or matters on which the devolved government or regional areas can decide.

And then there's reserved powers which are issues or matters on which the UK government can decide.

Remember, if any of them terms are tricky to remember, always refer back to here and this slide where you have all of them listed there.

We will make a start with the first learning cycle, which is What is devolution? Which again is one of the keywords today.

So if we go back to our other keyword, we had centralization.

Now centralization is when the central government, if you can think who the central government is, because you've probably heard of them before, and if we think centre, so they're the ones in the middle, they make decisions on the majority of issues.

Now until actually recently, I mean it might not seem quite recent 'cause we're talking about 1997 here, but it is quite recent in kind of political history, is that the UK had a centralised system.

Now this meant that most decisions were made by UK Parliament.

So when I said central government earlier, if you thought of UK Parliament, you were on the right lines there.

They are the ones who are the central government and they have held most of the decisions.

So there you've got a bit of a model just to show you.

So UK Parliament, any decisions.

So you know if there's decisions about health, education, defence, the UK and parliament made all them decisions.

So quick check for understanding 'cause we are talking about some tricky concepts and terms and words that you might not have heard of.

So when decisions are made in one place, it is called A, devolution.

B, centralization.

Or C, demonstration.

It is centralization.

So central, think central government, the UK parliament, they're making the decisions.

What we're gonna look at now is devolution.

Now devolution is a transfer of some of them powers from the government in Westminster to other constituent parts of the UK or also it can be to local or regional governments as well.

But today in mainly for this session, we are referring to the other parts of the UK.

If we break down that word 'cause you might probably not have heard of devolution and it's a tricky one to remember.

So if we can really break down that keyword and understand it, it helps moving forward 'cause it does come up a lot.

You've got the word de there.

Have you heard of this word de, or seen it on any other words before? If you have, you might have thought that it means off or from, yeah so things like you know, words like develop, deduct, you might have heard them before.

So we are getting something from or off.

And then volution we thought is to change or develop.

So we are taking something and we are developing or changing it and that's how we get devolution.

Again, because we're talking a lot of tricky concepts here.

Just another check for understanding.

So true or false, devolution is when powers are transferred from Westminster to other parts of the UK.

If you've got that, it is true.

Remembering centralization is where the powers are kept and devolution is where they are transferred.

So what's happened is that the UK parliament has devolved some of its powers to other nations.

Remembering what the nations are.

If we've got in the United Kingdom, who else have we got? So we've got UK parliament there and they are devolving to.

Scottish parliament.

And if we've got Scottish parliament, can you think of the other ones? We've got the Senedd or the Welsh Parliament and we've got the Northern Ireland Assembly.

So what they've done is they've taken some of them powers that we saw at the start in that circle decision making diagram and they are passing them over to these different areas.

We'll have a look more at what specifically they have devolved.

So we've got Izzy here, and Izzy says "It's not just devolved governments where devolution occurs, power can also be devolved to local and regional governments." And this is very true.

As I said today though we're focusing specifically on the devolution between the other nations in the United Kingdom.

However it is good to know that actually it does happen at a regional and local level as well.

And again it is some of them issues or they might have powers to make decisions as well.

So another check for understanding, you're gonna see quite a few in this lesson because as I said we just wanna make sure that you are getting these key terms. So which of these governments have devolved powers? Is it A, Senedd/Welsh Parliament.

B, Scottish parliament or C, UK Parliament? It is A And B.

So hopefully you've got that.

And then can you think of the term for the UK parliament? 'Cause they're not devolved powers, that is centralization if you can remember that one.

So through devolution the central government has transferred some of its powers to the constituent parts.

So we've go back a bit similar to that diagram we had at the beginning.

Now instead of having that one circle, we now have circle in the middle, which the UK parliament has.

That's the central power and the reserved powers.

And then we have our devolved powers which are on the outside.

So they're given an example there.

You've got education and health are some things that have devolved.

Not all areas are devolved now, it's just some and we will have a look at the difference which ones have and haven't.

The devolved government are now responsible for devolved powers, the Scottish parliament, Senedd or Welsh parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, hold for responsibility.

Now referendums took place to ensure people supported devolution.

It wasn't just decided one day.

Oh okay cool, right? We're gonna you know, devolve these powers.

Referendums took place and the majority vote and then that's how it happened.

They also have a first minister and that is the leader of the devolved government.

So at check again.

True or false, the leader of each devolved parliament or assembly is called prime Minister.

That is false.

Can you think why that's false or what they are called? They are called the first minister.

The prime minister is the head of the UK government.

We're gonna move on to the first task here.

Is Laura correct about the difference between centralization and devolution? Explain your answer.

So we've got Laura and she says, "Centralization is when power is transferred to different places.

Devolution is when you have a vote on a particular issue." Take some time now and work out whether this is correct or not and then explain your answer.

Afterwards we can feed back together.

How did you get on? Hopefully you managed to work out that Laura wasn't correct.

Now the reason Laura's not correct is because centralization is when power is consolidated in one place.

So when they have the majority of decisions, for example in UK Parliament, that would be centralization.

Whereas devolution is when the power is transferred and this can involve transferred to power to regional and local levels.

Again, it sounds like we're saying these terms centralization, devolution a lot, but it is to make sure that those concepts go in because it is something that comes up time and time again.

So it's making sure that you understand the difference between centralization and devolution it's really important.

Now hopefully it is starting to go in.

So we are gonna move on now to the next learning cycle, which is what powers are devolved.

You might have heard me reference and I said we were gonna have a look at some of the powers and that's what we are doing in this learning cycle here.

Now reserved powers are ones that are for the UK government.

An example of reserve power is defence.

So that means Westminster government decides on defence policies.

The devolved nations don't get to say in that.

That sticks with the UK government.

Devolved powers are issues where the devolved governments have the authority to make.

Example, healthcare is devolved.

So that means devolved governments can decide about the healthcare policies.

True or false.

A reserved power is a power that has not been devolved Good, hopefully you've managed to get that that is true.

And again then that helps to drum in the differences between them.

So if we have a look here, here are some examples of reserved powers and devolved powers.

Just having a look there at the types and the topics and the areas.

Can you think why they might be reserved and devolved? Just having a look at what kind of the context of them are.

So if we have a look at some of the reserve powers, you've got their like defence, foreign affairs, constitutional affairs, immigration.

So some of them even might affect the whole of the UK and how it's run or it might affect the UK's involvement with other countries.

So they're the topics that tend to be more reserved, whereas the devolved ones there might be a local difference or maybe there might be differences in areas.

So such as health and social care, education and training.

You know, it might not tailor to everybody in the country to have one specific policy.

So actually by devolving some of them powers, it allows people to go actually in our area this is what's needed.

Same with transport, sports and culture.

Example there like if you've seen the football, you might notice that they might have a English football team and a Scottish football team that is all part of the devolved powers.

So which of these is a reserved power? Is it A education and training? B, defence, C, health and social care or D transportation.

Did you manage to get that it was defence.

Hopefully now 'cause hopefully it's starting to drum in the difference between reserves.

So that's the ones that the UK government and devolved where they are devolving to the other nations.

So we've got Aisha here and she says, "Does this mean that education could be different in each of the different devolved governments?" And Izzy says, "Yes, so Scotland follows the curriculum for excellence, the CFE, and England follows the national curriculum." There also might be differences in maybe subjects or exams and assessments as well.

And that can vary because the devolved nations can make the power and decisions about what is happening.

We have a building here.

Any ideas what this building is? Did you know there's Scottish Parliament, there are 129 MSPs, so they're members of the Scottish Parliament.

And they are the ones that make the decisions on the devolved powers.

So do you remember back to the chart where we had a look? So things like education, healthcare, instead of it going, obviously it doesn't go to UK parliament, in Scotland it goes to the Scottish parliament and these members of the Scottish Parliament make the decisions.

A bit like you know they would in government there'll be debates and discussions and votes to decide on what the new policies are going to be.

And they also have a cabinet and ministers for all devolved matters.

So again, that's pretty similar to UK Parliament as well.

They've got people there.

Scotland has the most devolved powers out of the devolved government and that includes, so they have things like the economy, they can look at their own justice and policing, sport, environment.

So what this means is actually even though powers have been devolved to different nations, it doesn't mean that they all can do and make decisions on the exact same topics.

There are some topics that are different.

You've then got the Welsh Parliament or Senedd, and that has 60 members representing its constituents from the local areas and regions of Wales.

Now the Senedd was created to help keep a national identity and preserve traditions.

So again, the design of it, everything there is based on supporting the Welsh identity.

Now Wales is still gaining more devolved powers and more recently than Scotland say.

So example they've got the Wales Act in 2017, has given more devolved powers which means that they can make more decisions around education and training, housing, transport, there are other areas as well.

So if you are interested, you could always have a look and see what each country can do.

So the Senedd Welsh parliament is the only devolved government without responsibility for justice and policing.

So you would've saw on Scotland that one was included there.

However, in Wales that's not something that they can do and that's made under the UK parliament.

It has 90 members of legislative assemblies.

So their MLAs and their devolved powers include education.

So you'd see that one as kind of a running one that's coming through all of the different devolved nations.

Pensions and child support, housing, justice and policing, and the Northern Ireland civil service.

The northern island assembly is the only devolved government to have been suspended.

Now what that means is that its powers were temporarily halted and it went back to the rule of the UK parliament and they said actually they stopped it and said no they took rule again and then they gave power back eventually.

But that is the only devolved government that that has happened to.

So check for understanding now.

'Cause we've had lots of different information about the different devolved governments.

Which parliament or assembly has been suspended before.

A, the Scottish Parliament.

B, the Senedd or Welsh Parliament.

C, Northern Island Assembly It is the Northern Island Assembly.

Now each devolved parliament can set their own laws on devolved powers.

So just to give you a bit of an example here, like when I said all the different topics, there also means that there are actually some differences in laws across the UK.

In the Scottish Parliament in 2021, Scotland changed the age of criminal responsibility to 12.

So if you know the rest of the UK it's actually 10.

And the reason they can do that is because they're in charge of the justice and policing in Scotland.

You've then got Senedd/Welsh parliament.

So in 2022 they made physical punishment of children including smacking illegal in Wales.

However, in England and Northern Ireland, this is still legal.

You've then got the Northern Ireland Assembly there, in 2010 prescriptions were made free for all in Northern Ireland.

In England there is a charge unless you're exempt, it's actually also free in Scotland as well.

So that they have control of healthcare.

So there's them differences there that mean there are actually different laws in place.

True or false.

Devolved powers means that laws are the same across each devolved nation.

Hopefully that you've got that that is false.

Why is that False? Did you remember that they can set their own laws on devolved matters.

So it means some laws might be different in each nation.

And we had a few examples there.

We are gonna move on to the second task here.

So we've got each pupil is concerned about a different topic.

Whom would they contact? Their representatives at the devolved parliament or their MP in Westminster.

So that's asking you to think is that topic devolved that they're concerned about or is it reserved? See if you can work it out.

So you'll have a look now at the three students and then once you think you've got it come back and we can check if they're right.

How did you get on? Did you manage to work out? So Aisha there is concerned about the potential closure of the local hospital that goes to a devolved representative because it's healthcare and healthcare is a devolved matter.

We've got Izzy and Izzy would like to discuss the effect of immigration in her town.

That one would go to Westminster MP.

Because again, immigration is reserved.

Then got Jun and Jun would like to talk to someone about funding for sports teams in the area.

That would go to a devolved representative.

Because sports is a devolved matter.

Hopefully now you've understanding what the difference between devolution and centralization is.

And starting to recognise some of the powers that are devolved and reserved and just remembering which ones are which.

What we are gonna look at now is how devolution is evolving.

Because if you remember back when we said actually it was 1997 that devolution started.

So since then and that's quite a short period of time, we are now moving and it is constantly changing and evolving, like I said as well.

You know with whales, they're beginning to get more powers quite recently as well.

So just to give you a bit of an example there.

So you've got 1997, and the referendums we've got in Scotland and Wales.

You've then got in Belfast, the Good Friday agreement, we'll talk about a little bit more about that in a minute and then devolution is beginning.

So yep, although the referendums take place, obviously it takes time to get the laws, it takes time for the ball to start rolling.

So that's when it's beginning.

We spoke about Northern Ireland Assembly getting suspended.

So actually there you've got 2003, which was when the return to direct rule was.

And then we've got 2007 when devolution was restored.

So that's that period we were talking about it being suspended.

To look a bit more detail, obviously because there are differences in each nation, the devolution is evolving differently at different paces in different ways for each nation.

So we will have a look at them individually.

So you've got their devolution in Scotland.

Now if we go back to the start, so we've got 60% of people originally.

So when they had the referendum voted in favour.

And then Scotland has had its own parliament since 1999.

In 2012, the Scotland Act 2012 made significant changes to the powers of the Scottish Parliament and it increased the level of devolution by giving greater control.

So example like taxation.

And then you've got in 2014, so Scotland had a referendum for independence from the UK where 55% voted to remain in the UK.

Now obviously had that been different then Scotland would be completely independent.

So that shows you actually a different level of devolution because then that's instead of just evolving powers, that's complete independence.

But that hasn't happened.

So where we're at now is still with Scotland having devolved powers, which off the back of that, the Scotland Act 2016 further expanded the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

So then they had more powers.

We then move on to the Senedd or Welsh Parliament, and some key moments for Wales is that 50.

3% of people voted for devolution in 1997 there.

And they've had devolved powers again since 1999, like things like education and healthcare.

What happened in 2017 was they moved to a reserved powers model, which means that the Welsh parliament again are getting more powers for any matters are devolved.

And the Senedd and Elections Act saw the Welsh Assembly formally changed to a parliament or Senedd.

So that only happened in 2020.

Prior to that it was just the Welsh Assembly.

But now it is formally it's own parliament.

Again, it's still evolving.

So from 2026 they're growing the amount of members and people that can be voted into 96, and increasing their constituencies so that more people are therefore represented.

So again, it's still evolving and it could still be changing.

We've then got Northern Ireland and said we'll follow up on what the Good Friday agreement is there.

So what it did was it brought peace to Northern Ireland and established a devolved government following all the troubles that had happened in Northern Ireland.

However, there still have been times where there there's been disagreements between elected officials in Northern Ireland, hence the leading to the suspension there.

So which parliament or assembly has recently been granted more devolved powers, A, the Scottish parliament.

B, the Senedd or the Welsh Parliament.

C, the Northern Ireland Assembly.

It was the Senedd or the Welsh Parliament.

There are debates around devolution.

Obviously it is constantly changing and adapting.

Now some might see this as positive thing, some people might see this as a negative.

Now some of the reasons that it can be seen as positive is because it means decisions can be made at appropriate level.

So example of agriculture, you've got different problems in terms of Scotland and England.

Now if that was a UK making that whole decision, there's gonna be some people that are like, hmm, but that's not gonna work for us here.

So actually by allowing that difference, we can go, okay cool, well this works for us here and that works for us there.

So we can have different laws.

It also means local decision makers are likely to be more knowledgeable.

So if that person was just central government making that decision, they might not even realise there are completely different issues in the other nations.

So at least it allows people that are local to go, okay cool, but this is the real issue that's in our area and it allows cultural identity and each part of the UK to find expression.

It allows people to feel, you know, part of their country and their traditions and the history can be kept alive.

A bit of an example there in the Senedd, and how that has been designed there.

If we move on to the negatives that some people see.

There are extra costs with new parliament buildings.

So like Scotland and Wales, there's obviously a cost then attached to that.

Conflict might develop between the devolved governments.

You know if there are one country has decided on this law and it's differences in another, people might see that as unfair and there might be arguments between that or between the UK government.

And it can be complicated to understand.

So it's like remembering actually that there are different laws and different legislation in the different areas.

And remembering, oh who's got that power, what's that power? Is it devolved or reserved? So that's again why I saying the importance of remembering the words reserved and devolved because it will go back and forth and it does change.

So which of the following are advantages of devolution in the UK? Is it A, allows cultural identity of each nation? B, local politicians have more knowledge of the area.

C, ministers in UK Parliament have more knowledge of an area.

Did you manage to work out there are two correct answers there.

So it's both A and B.

And now that brings us onto our final task.

So we've got Lucas and Sam, and they are debating what the future of devolution will look like.

You got Lucas there who's saying, "I believe that devolution should evolve further by increasing devolved powers.

This allows each region to be more flexible and make decisions that benefit their local communities and meet needs in their areas." Whereas Sam saying, "I believe that UK Parliament should take back control and ensure more reserved powers because it's unfair if only some areas benefit from certain laws.

The UK Parliament should set uniform policies for everyone to ensure fairness across the UK." Now there's some big statements there to take some time to digest that and then when you're ready, see if you can decide who you agree with more and explain why with an example.

So as I said, take some time, you can pause it now and then when you are ready and you've completed it, we can come back and we can feedback and see how you get on.

How did you find that? Now it doesn't matter who you agreed with, that's your choice.

So you could agree with Lucas or Sam.

We will go through both of them.

Now if you did agree with Lucas, you could have said something like, I agree with Lucas, 'cause every area is different and the local politicians will know their area best.

For example, transport is a devolved power, and people who live in rural areas would need different transport systems compared to those in cities who might be able to walk to and access shops.

Now this is such a big question in terms of examples.

You've got an example there for transport, but you could have given any, so you spoke about education or healthcare, maybe something that's relevant to where you are, that's perfectly fine as well.

It's just to show you an idea of what you could have put.

Now we'll have a look of Sam here.

So if you agreed with Sam, it could have looked like, I agree with Sam because it can create conflict between the devolved governments.

For example, if one nation made school days longer and another made it shorter, the students might think this is unfair as they're not getting the same opportunities.

If the UK parliament has reserve power, it allows for equal opportunities.

So again there did you have something similar at all? Or maybe you've come up with a completely different idea, which is great as well and fine as long as you've remembered them difference between devolved and reserved.

That brings us to the summary.

As I said, there's been some very tricky words, so if you've kept up all this way, well done.

It is a really difficult concept to grasp.

We will go through the summary and hopefully you are with me on the different terms and what they mean.

Devolution is the transfer of some powers from the government in Westminster to the constituent parts of the UK.

These are the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament or Senedd, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Devolved powers have been granted to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in some areas such as education, transport, and health.

Reserve powers remain with the UK Parliament such as defence and immigration.

Devolution continues to evolve and additional powers have become devolved.

For example, the Welsh assembly only became a parliament in 2020.

And that brings us to a close there.

So as I said, well done for keeping up because it is tricky concept to get and understand and hopefully you have a bit of a better understanding.

So thank you for working through with me on this lesson today and hopefully we'll see you on another one.

Have a good day.