Levels of Government in the UK: A Comprehensive Analysis

Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers to help students understand complex topics.

Assignment 1: Understand the Different Levels of
Government
1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference List................................................................................................................................11
2

Introduction
The British Government or UK government is a functional unit under the Queen’s monarchical
rule and performs authoritative action within British and Irish society. The legislative framework
of the country involves the Parliament, Executive and Judiciary body headed by the Monarch-
Her Highness. The Parliamentary body is subdivided into House of Commons and House of
Lords. The Executive body of the UK government is functional under the Prime Minister and the
Cabinet of ministers. The Judiciary is the largest non-political entity in the government
framework that provides services to the people through the Supreme Court and the Court of
Appeal.
Figure 1: Structure of the UK government
(Source: Moran, 2015)
The following study aims to identify the various levels within the government as well as conduct
a brief analysis of the responsibilities and roles within each level. The study would present an
analysis of the decision-making powers heralded within each level and its impact on the UK
public services.
3

Task 1
1.1 Explain the different levels of government
The governing body of the UK society provides the population with rules and legislations that
are framed by the Cabinet and the Parliamentary body. The Prime Minister and Her Highness
are the two key positions in the structure of the government that develop laws and regulatory
notions in the UK. The UK government comprises of the Prime Minister, 22 Cabinet Ministers
and 94 other Ministers (Gov.uk, 2019). These ministerial figures are accountable to the Prime
Minister, The Houses of Commons and Lords and ultimately to Her Highness. The governing
structure of the UK is sectioned into national, regional and devolved. The government is
operative through three major arteries- the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary (Kettl, 2016).
The Executive body of the government constitutes of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet
ministers who frame the laws of the country. The Legislative body comprises of the
parliamentary House of Commons and the House of Lords, who ensure the laws developed by
the Executive, are passed as mandates (Leyland, 2016). The Judiciary body that includes the
Supreme Court and other Courts of Appeal ensure that people adhere to these laws and
mandates.
Figure 2: Responsibilities of the governing bodies
(Source: BBC Bitesize, 2019)
4

The national government consists of the Monarch, House of Lords and the House of Commons
and operates through the Parliament located at Westminster. The houses are the primary law-
making bodies. The regional government includes the Assemblies that propagate the issues of
the society to the national level and enable the application of laws framed by the central
government at a regional level. The devolved government includes three major entities Scottish
Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly. The devolved parliamentary
institutions are able to frame their own laws without seeking approval from the central
government of the UK (Blick and Dunleavy, 2018). The governing bodies within the UK ensure
that laws and policies are develop in collaboration among each other and are implemented in the
society efficiently.
1.2 Analyse the roles and responsibilities of the different levels of government
The responsibilities associated with each level of the governing bodies within the UK
government are distributes among the national, regional and devolved parliaments within the
country. The primary responsibility of running the government and developing decision-making
treaties is attributed to the central government (Armstrong and Bulmer, 2018). The Prime
Minister signs treaties as a representative of the national government at a global and national
level. The aspect of directives and resolutions are passed by the Parliament through the law-
making process between the Houses and the Monarch. Statues and by-laws are framed within the
judiciary and the Cabinet of ministers. The Ministers conduct the budget planning process for
localities and the regional assemblies implement them on various local public services such as
the Metropolitan Police and the NHS (Xenias et al., 2015). The budget setting power for local
administration relies on the policies framed by the regional governing bodies and the funds
allocated by the central government. The budget planning on a national scale is according to the
decisions framed by the central government.
The devolved governments are allocated with the responsibility of forming norms and
regulations for the administration of education, health, transportation and other associated
aspects of governing a society for Scotland, Welsh region and Northern Ireland. The duties of the
devolved government are self-contained and operate separately from the central government of
the UK (Tomaney and Colomb, 2018). However, as part of the British government, the central
government of UK conducts execution and enforcement of the laws in the devolved areas of
5

governance (Ferry and Eckersley, 2015). The devolved parliaments perform their duties in the
regions more efficiently than the central government as these bodies have a better understanding
of the societies and issues that affect the functioning of the society in the Scottish, Welsh and
Irish regions.
1.3 Analyse the decision-making powers of the different levels of government
The government of the UK society can be identified as an organisational structure that functions
accordingly through cooperation and conflict management among the various legal bodies
within the country. The different arms of the government are in constant dispute and
collaborative behaviour regarding the effective operation of the UK society in the national,
global and local scales. A prominent example of conflict among the government and the
judiciary was regarding the establishment of the new Ministry of Justice as the Constitutional
Reform Act of 2005 and the legislative body issued the Concordat (Publications.parliament.uk,
2019). The relations between the administration of local and national governing bodies are
observed through the collaborative efforts placed by the governing bodies during the medical
emergencies of Swine flu and Zika virus break (Hood and Dixon, 2015). The amendments of the
Ministerial Code ensure that the ministers and political entities do not influence the justice
system of the country (Ng, 2018). The formation of Her Majesty’s Courts Services (HMCS)
Commission was a regulatory framework regarding the judicial activities that at times is in
conflict to the Judiciary of the country (Kelly, 2015).
The government and the judiciary are in collaboration during the formation and passing of
mandates and green papers that are formulated during court rulings. The ministers conduct the
performance of policy-making and present Bills to the parliament where the Houses conduct a
hearing of the propositions and decide on the amendments of the existing Acts and policies
(Hayes-Renshaw, 2017). The relation between the judiciary and the government is put to test
when the governing officials influence the opinion of the judiciary regarding the outcome of a
legal case based on public opinion through the Attitudinal model (Segal and Champlin, 2017).
The judicial body of the government operates as a partner rather than a subsidiary sector that can
be manipulated by the government policies (Wilensky, 2015). The regional and local
governments function in accordance to the mandates developed by the judiciary and ensure the
implementation of legal framework within the society is in accordance to the laws framed by the
6

legislative and parliamentary figures. Such collaboration among the governing bodies ensures the
efficiency of the operational framework of the UK society is maintained at all times. The office
of Lord Chancellor is the epitome of governance where the three arms of the government
accumulate as the Chancellor addresses existing conflicts, duties and responsibilities within the
government.
1.4 Analyse how the decisions of the different levels of government impact on UK public
services
It is beneficial for the government to operate in a collaborative manner and provide services to
the population of the country through effective dissolution of conflict (Cusumano, 2015).
Considering the development of Building stability overseas strategy (BSOS) in 2011 by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence and DFID ensured that the
military and governing forces within the country handled conflict management in fragile states
effectively. The Strategic Defence Review and the National Security Strategy of 2010 ensures
the central government and the Ministry of Defence control the security of the country
(GOV.UK, 2019). The creation of the Supreme Court and the Conduct Ombudsman regarding
the efficiency of the judicial system affects the public offices of disciplinary action and the
police in a positive manner as it allow the law-keeping entities to provide justice to the society.
The implementation of Criminal Law Act of 1967 ensured that violence and force used by the
police on criminals are justified and should be in accordance to the Human Rights Act of 1998.
This gave rise to issues among the police force using violence on the criminal in a discriminatory
manner (The Law on Police Use of Force, 2019).
The government had to make amendments in the policing service and introduced survey cameras
on person in every law-keeping individual operating under the Met police department. The
repercussions included reduced armed forces among the police force and enhanced the scope of
gang violence in the UK society (Laniyonu, 2018). Officers reported to have developed intense
PTSD syndrome due to the lack of security they experienced in providing services to the
population in difficult situations (The Guardian, 2019). The implementation of Police Conduct
Bill in the parliament presented the police force of the country with the scenario where they had
to record every situation of performing force on the criminals and suspects and justify the use of
violence. The public service office of Metropolitan Police had been under scrutiny by the
7

Judiciary for not adhering to the policies of Human Rights and reduced the efficiency of the
police force. The government including ministers of the House of Commons as well as members
of the Conservative Party placed an argument in the parliament regarding the compliance of the
police force and the public service officers, which led to amendments in the Criminal Law Act
and Criminal Justice and Immigration Act in 2018.
8

Task 2
The police forces within the UK are divided into three major sectors including Territorial police
services, National law enforcement agencies and miscellaneous police services. The police
force of the country adheres to the legislative decisions taken and passed as Acts in the
parliament. The policies framed by the government influence the operations of the police forces
as per the Police Act of 1996. The HMCS’s decision to implement the Police and Crime
Commissioners in 2012 enhanced the operations of the national and regional police force. The
governmental authority over the MI5, which is the National Security Service, provides the local
and national police forces in conflict regarding the policing activities of the Met police
department.
The implementation of capping the use of force by the police department in gang violence that
was passed by the democratic mandate presented the public service office of law keeping with
safety issues (Kappeler and Potter, 2017). The police officers were asked to record and provide
justification of every case where violence was used to subdue suspects and criminals. The
outbreak of gang violence in London and lack of safety among the police forces reduced police
authority in the society. The judiciary’s policy of stop and search that the police force
implemented in reducing the threat post terrorist attacks in London also drew fire from the public
regarding the ethnic discrimination the police forces were conducting. These scenarios provide
information regarding the link between the policies and their influence on the functionality of the
public service officers. The issue of bribery and corruption among the police forces in 2012
forced the government to include Right to Information policy on the operational elements of the
Police force (Fielding, 2017).
9

Conclusion
It can be observed from the study that the governing body in the UK is a framework involving
collaborative working of three arms including the legislative, executive and judiciary. The
relation and decision-making abilities of the various levels of government ensures the UK
government functions efficiently. The successful development of conflict management strategies
among the various institutions of the government presents the public services of the country with
the scope of generating better efficiency in their performance. Certain decisions of the
government negatively influence the working ability of the public offices, which requires the
regional and judiciary to develop strategies that would help restore the balance in the
governmental framework.
10

Reference List
Armstrong, K.A. and Bulmer, S., 2018. The United Kingdom: between political controversy and
administrative efficiency. In Fifteen into one?. Manchester University Press.
BBC Bitesize. 2019. Power and decision-making in the UK - Revision 1 - National 5 Modern
Studies - BBC Bitesize. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zwypxfr/revision/1 [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Blick, A. and Dunleavy, P., 2018. London: devolved government and politics at metropolitan
level.
Cusumano, E., 2015. The scope of military privatisation: Military role conceptions and
contractor support in the United States and the United Kingdom. International Relations, 29(2),
pp.219-241.
Ferry, L. and Eckersley, P., 2015. Budgeting and governing for deficit reduction in the UK
public sector: act three ‘accountability and audit arrangements’. Public Money &
Management, 35(3), pp.203-210.
Fielding, N., 2017. The police and social conflict. Routledge-Cavendish.
GOV.UK. 2019. 2010 to 2015 government policy: conflict in fragile states. [online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-conflict-in-
fragile-states/2010-to-2015-government-policy-conflict-in-fragile-states [Accessed 26 May
2019].
Gov.uk. 2019. How government works - GOV.UK. [online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/how-government-works [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Hayes-Renshaw, F., 2017. The council of ministers. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hood, C. and Dixon, R., 2015. A government that worked better and cost less?: Evaluating three
decades of reform and change in UK central Government. OUP Oxford.
11

Judiciary.uk. 2019. The justice system and the constitution. [online] Available at:
https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-judiciary-the-government-and-the-constitution/
jud-acc-ind/justice-sys-and-constitution/ [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Kappeler, V.E. and Potter, G.W., 2017. The mythology of crime and criminal justice. Waveland
Press.
Kelly, D., 2015. The English Legal System: 2015-2016. Routledge.
Kettl, D.F., 2016. Politics of the administrative process. Cq Press.
Laniyonu, A., 2018. Police, politics and participation: The effect of police exposure on political
participation in the United Kingdom. The British Journal of Criminology, 58(5), pp.1232-1253.
Leyland, P., 2016. The constitution of the United Kingdom: A contextual analysis. Bloomsbury
Publishing.
Moran, M., 2015. Politics and Governance in the UK. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Ng, Y.F., 2018. The Rise of Political Advisors in the Westminster System. Routledge.
Publications.parliament.uk. 2019. [online] Available at:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldselect/ldconst/151/151.pdf [Accessed 26 May
2019].
Segal, J.A. and Champlin, A.J., 2017. The Attitudinal Model. Routledge Handbook of Judicial
Behavior, p.17.
The Guardian. 2019. I’m a police officer in London. Here’s why we’ve lost control of the streets |
Anonymous. [online] Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/police-officer-london-lost-control-
streets-knife-crime-cuts [Accessed 26 May 2019].
The Law on Police Use of Force. 2019. Law on police use of force in the United Kingdom.
[online] Available at: https://www.policinglaw.info/country/united-kingdom [Accessed 26 May
2019].
12