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put into practice
11. What happens to this organisation if a new government is elected?
(a) It must put the new government's policies into practice (b) It is disbanded, and new managers and
administrators are chosen (c) The managers and administrators continue working with the previous
government for up to five years and are then 'retired'
12. Individual areas in the UK are administered by a system of local government, called councils. What
are the main types of council?
(a) County council (b) District council (c) Borough council (d) City council (e) Metropolitan council
13. What is another name commonly used for local government?
(a) Local authorities (b) Local commands (c) Local controllers (d) Local dictators
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14. What sort of community services do councils provide?
(a) Education (b) Local / regional planning (c) Public transport (d) Road maintenance (e) Recycling (f) Refuse
collection (g) Libraries (h) Housing and accommodation (i) The Fire Service (j) Social services
15. What do we call a member of a local council?
(a) A counsellor (b) A councillor (c) A counciller (d) A councilor
16. How does somebody become a member of a local council?
(a) They must apply for the post, like any other job (b) They must be elected in local elections (c) They are
appointed by Parliament in London (d) They must make a financial donation to the council: the biggest
donation "wins"
17. What are "mandatory services"?
(a) Local government services that must be provided because the central government says they must be
provided (b) Local services that a local government can provide if it wants to and has the money to do so
(c) Local services that are decided by central government, but that local government can refuse to provide
(d) Local services that must be provided because the people who live in that area demand them
18. Who provides the money for local government?
(a) The government (through taxes) (b) Local businesses (through voluntary donations) (c) Local people
(through council tax) (d) The European Parliament (through a central European funding system)
19. Who is eligible to vote in local and national elections?
(a) Men over 18 and women over 21 (b) Men and women over 16 (c) Men and women over 18 (d) Men and
women over 21 (e) Men over 18, and women over 18 if they are married (f) Men only
20. If you are a permanent resident of the UK, but are not a UK citizen, which two rights do you not
have?
(a) A general right to vote (b) The right to free medical treatment on the NHS (c) The right to claim social
security if you are unemployed (d) The right to get married to a UK citizen (e) The right to hold a British
passport (f) Employment rights such as paid holidays and the minimum wage (g) The right to be represented
by a Member of Parliament
21. How much money do you need to deposit if you want to stand for political office in the UK?
(a) £5000 for MP's and members of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, and
£500 for Members of the European Parliament (b) £500 for MPs and members of the Scottish Parliament and
Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, and £5000 for Members of the European Parliament (c) 10% of your
annual income (d) Nothing, if you are unemployed (e) Nothing, but you are not allowed to vote for yourself
22. When you make a deposit to stand for political office, what percentage of the vote must you win
to get your deposit back?
(a) You don't need to win any votes (b) At least 5% (c) At least 10% (d) At least 20% (e) At least 25%
23. If you want to contact your Member of Parliament (MP), how should you do it?
(a) By writing to their constituency office (b) By writing to them at their office in the House of Commons
(c) By phoning their constituency office (d) By phoning their office in the House of Commons (e) At regular
'surgeries' where the MP will be present to answer your questions (f) By email, through the website
www.writetothem.com
24. In recent years, has the number of people voting in local and national elections:
(a) fallen? (b) risen? (c) stayed the same?
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Politics and government 3
This text, which is about devolving power in UK politics, contains 50 spelling errors or
wrong words. Can you identify and correct them all?
The process of taking power from a central autority or goverment and giving it to smaller, more
local regions is called devalution. This began in the UK in 1997, with the result that since 1999
there has been an Assembly in Whales and a Parliament in Scottland.
The Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament have control over many local issues, but can only
debite the policy and laws governing general taxattion, social seccurity, defense and foreign
affaires (which are decided by central government in London).
The Scottish Parliament is based in Edingburgh (Scotland's principle city), and is funded by a grunt
from the UK government. Scotland has had some limited autonamy from London for quite a long
time, but the decision to begin creating a seperate Parliament did not happen until a national
refferendum in 1997. Unlike the Welsh Assembly (see the paragraph below), the Scottish
Parliament can make its own laws (with exceptions such as those listed in the paragraph above),
and even has some powers over national income tax rats. Also, unlike the Welsh Assembly and
the UK Parliament, members (known as MSPs) are elected by a type of preportional
reprasentation.
The Welsh Assembly is based in Cadiff (the Welsh capitol). Assembly members are chosen in
ellections which are held every four years. It makes its own decisions on many local issues and
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