From Glasgow to Beijing

Lesson 3Government in Scotland and China

Learning Intentions

• Academic Goals– To learn how the system of government in

Scotland is organised– To learn who our representatives are in Scotland– To compare this to the system of government in

China

• Social Goal– To listen carefully to the information you are given

and then help each other to complete your tasks.

Success Criteria

• I can explain the different levels of government in Scotland, give examples of what areas they deal with and link representatives to each level of government.

• I can explain how the system of government in China is structured and highlight the main differences between this and Scotland’s system

Head of State

• In Britain the monarch is the Head of State. Just now that is Queen Elizabeth II. Although she is not involved the day to day running of the country she has a number of important roles.

The Queen

She welcomes the Heads of State from other countries She has several

roles in Parliament, such as opening Parliament, dissolving it and giving Royal Assent to bills.

She represents Britain on her trips abroad. She is also the Head of the Commonwealth.

UK Parliament

• The UK Parliament is made up of two houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

UK Parliament

• We elect representatives to speak on our behalf and make decisions on laws that are being passed.

• These representatives are called Members of Parliament (MPs for short) and meet in the House of Commons.

• MPs can either belong to a political party or be independent.

Scottish Parliament

• In 1999, after a referendum two years previously, Scotland elected their new Parliament.

• Members of this Parliament are called Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs for short)

Scottish Parliament

• When Scotland got their own parliament, the powers had to be split between the UK Parliament and the new Scottish Parliament.

• The powers given to the Scottish Parliament were called devolved powers.

• The powers kept by the UK Parliament were called reserved powers.

Devolved Powers

• education • health • justice • local government • the environment • agriculture• sport and the arts

Reserved Powers

• Foreign affairs, including Europe • the civil service • defence

• most tax and budgetary matters • social security• immigration • broadcasting

Local Councils

• As well as electing MSPs and MPs to represent us and make decisions on our behalf, we also have Local Councils.

• We elect councillors to run the council. They have responsibility for issues such as – Collecting rubbish– Repairing roads– Providing services such as swimming pools, sports

facilities etc

Task

• Each group is going to be given a set of cards which have words on them that describe the different levels of government in Scotland.

• In your groups you have to sort these into a structure that shows how the government in Scotland is organised.

• Once you think you have it in order it will be checked by your teacher.

China’s Government

• In some ways the government of China is very similar to the government of Scotland.– There is a government who make decisions for the

country.– People are given the chance to vote in elections

China’s Government

• However there are some very important differences between Scotland’s government and China’s.– There is only one political party – the Communist Party– The Chinese Communist Party control almost every aspect

of society• The government and civil service• Armed forces• Police and judiciary• Trade unions• Farms and factories• Media and education• Sport and culture

National People’s Congress

• The NPC meets at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

• There are 3,000 delegates from all over China.• They have little real power and generally they

approve without question policies put forward by the ruling Communist Party.

State Council and President

• The NPC elects the State Council and the President.

• The State Council and the President are the ones who decide on the government’s policy and laws.

• Although it may seem that the Chinese have a system of government that elects people to power, in reality this is not the case.

• The Communist party have a similar structure (that we will look at next lesson) and that is where the real power lies.

• Those who hold positions of power in the government will be there because of what they do in the Communist Party.

Questions

1. In what two ways is the government of China similar to the government of Scotland?

2. In what two ways is the government of China different to the government of Scotland?

3. What are the three parts to China’s government?

Lesson Recap

• Can you– explain the different levels of government in

Scotland, give examples of what areas they deal with and link representatives to each level of government?

– explain how the system of government in China is structured?

– explain the main differences between the system of government in Scotland and China?

Key Question

• In what ways could the system of government in Scotland be described as being better for the people than China’s system of government?