The main roles in government

2. Unit 1
Government, policies and the public services
View this in slide show now.

3. Branches of government
• In our last session we looked at the three
‘systems of power’ that work together to ensure
the smooth running of the nation.
Legislative power
Judicial power Executive power

4. • The aim of this session is to enable you to
understand the main roles in government in the
UK.
• The objective is that upon completion of this
session you will have studied:
– The main roles of:
• The Prime Minister
• Government Ministers
• Members of Parliament (MPs)
• Mayors
• Council members

5. The main roles in government
• The government in its current form could
not work effectively without people who
fulfil the main roles needed to ensure the
country works effectively and decisions
are made and implemented:
• The Prime Minister
• Government Ministers
• Members of Parliament (MPs)
• Mayors
• Council members

6. Key terms:
• Prime Minister: the leader of the political party
with the most seats in the House of Commons.
• Ministers: usually MPs appointed by the Prime
Minister to take charge of a government office.
• The Cabinet: committee of the most senior
government ministers who meet once a week to
support the Prime Minister in running the
country.

7. The Prime Minister (PM)
• The leader of the political party with the
highest number of ministers in the HOC.
• Very demanding and difficult job.

8. The Prime Minister (PM)
• Admin, bureaucratic and
public duties:
– Allocation of duties to
ministers
– Appointment and dismissal
of ministers
– Appointment of chairs of
national industries
– The giving out of honours
– Sets the agenda for
government business
– Controls the release of
information to the Cabinet,
Parliament and the public.

9. The power of the PM
• Most influential politician
in Cabinet.
• Significant role in EU and
world matters.
• Meets with other heads of
state to discuss global
foreign and financial
polices.
• His decisions have
implications beyond UK
borders.

10. Government ministers
• MPs appointed by the
Prime Minister to take
charge of a
government office.
• The 20 or so most
important form the
PMs most trusted
advisers.
• They are called the
Cabinet.

11. The role of the Cabinet
• To ensure that key social
problems are reviewed,
such as rising crime
rates, inflation and the
state of the NHS.
• To help ensure that all
government ministries are
able to communicate
freely with each other.
• To ensure that decisions
taken by one department
do not have unintended
consequences on another
department.

12. Members of Parliament (MP)
• Each MP is elected to represent the views of
their area of the country.
• They listening to and act upon the concerns of
their ‘constituents’.
• The less senior they are in the government the
more time they have to represent their
constituents views.
• They work for their local population; they deal
with and report to central government local
concerns.

13. Members of Parliament (MP)
• MPs vote on changes to and the
introduction of new laws.
• Such votes can change the way the public
services work and what they are allowed
to do.
• Think of an existing law or a proposed
new law that you disagree with or a new
law that you think needs to be introduced.
Lets discuss your thinking.

14. Mayors
• Normally elected by local
councillors for one year.
• Their main duties are:
– Representing their local
council on civic and
ceremonial occasions.
– Chairing meeting of the
local council.
– Promoting their area.
– Supporting charities and
community projects.
If you were Mayor of where you lived what
would you change or improve?

15. Local Council Members
• Local councillors are elected by the local
community.
• Their role is to improve the quality of life in their
area such as:
– Local transport
– Local education
– Local public services
• They are often local community leaders and
promote the interests of local concerns.
• Think of an improvement you would like to a
local issue where you live and let’s discuss it.

16. Summary
• The aim of this session was to enable you to
understand the main roles in government in the
UK.
• The objective was that upon completion of this
session you will have studied:
– The main roles of:
• The Prime Minister
• Government Ministers
• Members of Parliament (MPs)
• Mayors
• Council members

17. Any questions?

18. Next session?
• To know the responsibilities of
government departments.