Lesson video

Hi! Can I welcome you to lesson six of 'How does the political system work in the UK.

Today, we are going to look at how devolved governments work.

So, we're going to look at the governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

So, for today's lesson, you're going to need your notes from last lesson and from previous lessons, you're going to need some paper, a pen, a different coloured pen and a quiet place where you can complete the lesson.

If you need any other things or you need to move, please pause video and go and grab your equipment and move and then restart it once you're ready to begin the lesson.

Okay, so we have three things then.

We're going to look at 'What is devolution?'.

We're going to look at 'What powers have been transferred to the different administrations in the UK?'.

And we're going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of devolution.

Okay, so our first question to explore is 'What is devolution?'.

So, let's have a look at some words.

We're going to look at the word 'decrease', 'descend', and 'detach'.

And maybe you can think of some other words beginning with 'de' as well.

What do you think these words mean, what do you think they have in common, and how might they link to 'devolution'?.

What other words sound like devolution? So maybe, pause the video and just have a little think about that question.

Okay so, decrease.

It means make or become smaller.

Descend, it means move or fall downwards and detach means leave or separate.

And all these three words link to devolution quite well.

So to devolve something, like devolution, is the transfer or power to a different level.

Especially from central government to local or regional administration.

Transferring power from Westminster to UK regions, okay? And when we think of devolution in critical terms, this is what it means.

We are transferring power from Westminster and London, to the different areas of the UK or the different nations of the UK.

So Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It would be a good idea to pause the video and just note that definition down so you have it for reference.

So, the UK, just so we are all sure, when we talk about the UK, we mean England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland isn't in the UK.

And devolution also is starting to mean the transferring of power to different regions of England as well.

So we're getting the power transferred from Westminster to local areas.

So, a lot of areas now have mayors and these mayors have more power than they used to and they can make more decisions at a local level about what affects the local region.

I'm from Greater Manchester and we have a mayor, Andy Burnham and he has a power to make decisions which he didn't used to have because of this idea of devolution.

And this is just a diagram to hopefully represent that idea a bit more.

So we have the UK government/Westminster Parliament, and devolution means the transferring of power to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, those main administrations transferring it down into local councils.

The UK government also transfers power to local councils.

And then we've got devolution in England and devolution in English regions to regional mayors as well okay.

If you want to note that diagram down in your notes, pause video and do so, it is quite a good representation of the process.

So, what powers have been transferred to different administrations in the UK? Devolution in the UK has created a National Parliament in Scotland, a Welsh Assembly and a National Assembly in Northern Ireland.

This process transfers varying levels of power from the UK Parliament to different jurisdictions in the UK or different parts of the UK.

And you can see the different kind of buildings and different rooms where these parliaments are held.

We've got the Welsh Parliament, Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly there.

And here we've got the leaders of those.

We've got the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.

We've got the leader of Wales, Mark Drakeford.

And then in Northern Ireland, the power is shared by two people, Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill.

And they come from two different parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin.

So, devolved powers are policy decisions that Westminster Parliament controlled in the past but are now taken by separate UK bodies e.

g the Scottish Parliament.

This is because they have a regional impact.

The decisions they make will only impact that region.

The reserved powers however, are policy decisions that are still controlled by Westminster Parliament and this is because they have a UK-wide or international impact.

So to figure out if something is reserved or devolved, it's to do with the impact it has and again, you might want to pause the video now to note down the definitions of those two things.

Okay, so lets have a look then, which is which.

Can you identify which power is devolved or which is reserved.

So I'm going to bring up on screen a kind of government and you're going to just say out loud if you think it's devolved or if you think it's reserved.

So, tourism.

Do you think its reserved or do you think it's devolved.

Think about if the impact of tourism is going to impact that region most or the whole country.

So hopefully you've got it's devolved.

So each devolved nation has control over its tourism, what it can and can't do etc.

Education.

Is education going to impact that nation or is it going to impact the whole country.

Devolved.

So you might see on the news, talk about the different education systems. In Scotland, they do Highers.

England does GCSEs.

That's how it differs.

Defence.

So making sure the country is safe, the army, navy, air force, etc.

Is that devolved or is that reserved? So think about the impact of defence on the whole country.

So that is reserved, that power is reserved for Westminster in London, make that decision for all nations.

Now, the nations might be in those conversations but on the whole it's a decision made by the government in London on behalf of the whole UK.

Health.

So is health going to impact the region or will it impact the whole country.

Devolved, so health is a devolved issue.

Different nations have different rules and different policies about health.

Prescription charges for example, are free in Scotland where as they are not free for everyone in England.

Foreign policy, so how the UK interacts with different countries and how it feeds them in trade and things like that.

Is that devolved or is that reserved? Does it impact just the region or does it impact the whole nation? It's a reserved power, so the UK central government in Westminster set that.

What I'm going to ask you to do is, I'm going to ask you to access a worksheet attached to the lesson and you're going to use the information to complete the table.

And I'm going to give you a challenge task if you can, don't worry if you can't.

Can you find an area of policy which Scotland and Northern Ireland have devolved to them but Wales does not.

There's one policy area, which will be clear on the sheet which Scotland and Northern Ireland have but Wales does not.

So, here's the table.

You have to fill in the missing information for UK, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with where it is, how many seats, full or devolved power and what they can legislate.

You need four examples for that.

Please pause the video now, access the worksheet, give it a read and make the table and pop back once you have finished.

Well done for giving that a go.

Here is the answers.

Hopefully, you got the same as me, give it a tick with your different coloured pen or if you need, you can correct them.

Here are some examples of the local services, remember, you only needed four.

I shortened the list on your handouts but this is a full list.

And then I gave you the challenge task.

It's law and justice.

So Scotland and Northern Ireland have devolved powers over the issue of law and justice but Wales do not, as of yet.

It's something which might be discussed in the future but right now, it's not devolved.

The law and justice systems of Wales are overseen by Westminster.

England and Wales have a very similar justice system and laws.

Wales also has oversight of the Welsh language as well which no one else does.

So, what do we think? Advantages and disadvantages of devolution.

So we're going to explore those now and hopefully, by this point, you've thought of your own.

You've thought, well actually that's quite a good idea or actually that could cause problems because of X, Y and Z.

So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of devolution? So, I'm going to read out some sentences and I want to ask you to select the correct word from a list to fill in the sentence.

You'll only have to say and think the correct word out loud.

Devolution allows for ___ to be taken at a local level.

This allows for the different UK nations to ensure that the issues that impact them most are responded to locally.

So, is it going to be knowledge, decisions, complexity or identities.

What word goes in that gap for it to make the most sense.

If you need to pause video to have a little think, please do so.

But hopefully, you've got the word.

Decisions.

Devolution allows for decisions to be taken at a local level and this allows for the UK nations to make sure that what matters to them is dealt with locally.

So, agriculture for example is different in Wales as it is to England.

It can be quite beneficial.

Devolution may create extra ___ for national governments.

This is because buildings need to be built and maintained and staff employed.

What word goes there? Costs.

Buildings need to be built, maintained.

Staff.

In Westminster, you might not need those things.

You probably don't need staff, probably wouldn't need buildings, but then how practical would it be to control four nations from one building in Westminster.

That's a question that you have to ask yourself.

The something identity of a country can be considered when making political decisions.

This means each nation can retain important parts of their history and heritage.

So, it's their national identity.

When you're looking, making decisions about a country, you can make sure your national identity, who you are is represented and your history can come through, parts of your heritage, what matters to you most.

Okay, final one.

It may make political decision making more something.

This is because some decisions are devolved and some are reserved.

So, it adds a level of complexity.

It may make political decision making more complex.

Some decisions are devolved and some are reserved.

Okay, so, your next task is I'm going to ask you what you think are the advantages and disadvantages of having devolved powers.

You're going to use the arguments on the next slide which are the arguments we've just gone through, to create a table of the advantages and disadvantages of devolution and hopefully you'll be able to add an argument to one side or both sides of the debate.

So here are the arguments.

Draw a little table, advantages and disadvantages and put the sentence in the correct column.

Pause video now to have a go at that please.

OK, well done for having a go at that.

Here are the answers so the green ones are advantages and the pink ones are disadvantages I'll just go through them.

So advantages, devolution allows for decisions to be taken at a local level.

This allows for the different UK nations to ensure the issues that impact most are responded to locally.

And, the national identity of a country can be considered when making political decisions.

This means each nation can retain important parts of their history and heritage.

And then the disadvantages.

It may make political decision making more complex.

This is because some decisions are devolved and some are reserved.

And, devolution may create extra costs for national governments.

This is because buildings need to be built and maintained and staff employed.

Hopefully you have got some of your own too.

That brings the lesson to an end.

Hopefully you can now define devolution.

You can give examples of devolved and reserved powers.

And you can consider the strengths and weaknesses or advantages and disadvantages of devolution.

And that also brings the whole unit to an end.

We've completed the six lesson unit on how does the political system work in the UK.

So a very big well done! You should now be able to answer all these questions here.

I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you've learned some new information and that you'll carry on your learning with Oak and maybe do another topic.

Obviously check with your teacher.

You can now leave the lesson.

Please make sure you do the exit quiz to see how much you have remembered from today's lesson.

And also, as it's the last lesson of the unit, if you have got any work that you would like to share, please do ask a parent or carer to share that work with us.

The tag, the Twitter handle is @OakNational and if you us the hashtag #LearnwithOak, we can pick it up and we can get to see all the great things that you have done throughout the module.

Thank you very much.

Have a good day and see you again soon hopefully.