Devolution
- Devolution is the transfer of some powers from the UK Parliament to the nations. In 1998, laws set up the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly (now the Senedd) and the Northern Ireland Assembly (following the Good Friday Agreement).
- Devolved powers include health, education and transport. Reserved powers stay with Westminster, such as defence, foreign policy and immigration.
- England doesn't have its own parliament; English matters are decided by the UK Parliament.
- Results: different policies across the UK. For example, university tuition fees are different in Scotland.
Local government
- Local councils provide services such as schools, social care, bin collections, libraries, planning and local roads.
- Councillors are elected in local elections. Councils are funded by council tax, business rates and government grants.
- Some areas have directly elected mayors, such as the Mayor of London and metro mayors in city regions.
- Local government is close to the people it serves, but it is limited by budgets and national government decisions.
Participating locally
- You can contact councillors, attend council meetings, respond to consultations, join youth councils or stand for election.
Key terms
- Devolution
- The transfer of some powers from central government to the nations or regions.
- Devolved powers
- Powers given to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments.
- Reserved powers
- Powers kept by the UK Parliament, such as defence.
- Local council
- An elected body providing local services.
- Councillor
- An elected member of a local council.
- Council tax
- A local tax paid by households to fund council services.
- Metro mayor
- A directly elected mayor for a city region.