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SavannahYear 8
← Citizenship
CitizenshipGCSE citizenship: democracy and government30 min★★★ difficulty

Parliament, government and holding power to account

Learners often confuse Parliament with government. Separating them is the single most useful thing you can do before the exam.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Explain how democracy, elections and government work in the UK, including devolution.

Key learning points

  • • Parliament and government are not the same
  • • How a law is made
  • • Scrutiny in practice
  • • Devolution

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 17 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

democracyelectionsgovernmentdevolutionparliament

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 17 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 17

Watch first

Parliament, government and holding power to account

An English teaching video on this topic from Mr Elliott. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Explain how democracy, elections and government work in the UK, including devolution.

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 17

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Parliament and government are not the same

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 17

Learn

Parliament and government are not the same

Parliament is the legislature: the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the monarch. Government is the executive: the Prime Minister and ministers, drawn from Parliament, who run departments and propose policy. Parliament scrutinises government; government is accountable to Parliament.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 17

Learn

How a law is made

A bill has a first reading, second reading and debate, committee stage, report stage and third reading in the Commons, then the same in the Lords, then royal assent. The Lords can delay and amend but cannot indefinitely block a bill from the elected chamber.

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Quick check

Part 5 of 17

Quick check

Which body is the executive?

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Quick check

Part 6 of 17

Quick check

What is the final stage before a bill becomes law?

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Learning cycle

Part 7 of 17

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Scrutiny in practice

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

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Reset break

Part 8 of 17

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 17

Learn

Scrutiny in practice

Ministers face questions and debates, select committees investigate departments and publish reports, the Opposition challenges policy, and the media and courts add external accountability. Judicial review allows courts to check whether a minister has acted within the law.

10

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 17

Learn

Devolution

Powers over areas such as health, education and transport are devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while defence, foreign policy and most taxation remain reserved to Westminster. Local government delivers services within powers set by Parliament.

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 17

Quick check

What is the main power of a select committee?

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Quick check

Part 12 of 17

Quick check

Which power is reserved to Westminster rather than devolved?

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Explore the idea

Part 13 of 17

Worked example

Model answer: 'Explain how Parliament holds the government to account' (6 marks)

Parliament scrutinises the executive through questioning: ministers answer oral and written questions, and the Prime Minister faces weekly questions in the Commons, which forces public justification of policy. Select committees add sustained scrutiny, because cross-party members take evidence from ministers and civil servants and publish reports the government must respond to. Debates and votes on legislation allow Parliament to amend or defeat proposals, and because a government needs Commons support to govern, the threat of losing a vote shapes policy before it is even introduced.

14

Challenge round

Part 14 of 17

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

15

Challenge round

Part 15 of 17

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

____ is the legislature: the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the monarch.

____ is the executive: the Prime Minister and ministers, drawn from Parliament, who run departments and propose policy.

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Mastery quiz

Part 16 of 17

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Parliament, government and holding power to account

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which body is the executive?

  2. 2. What is the final stage before a bill becomes law?

  3. 3. What is the main power of a select committee?

  4. 4. Which power is reserved to Westminster rather than devolved?

17

Lesson round-up

Part 17 of 17

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Should the town centre have a curfew for under-16s?

After a rise in reported vandalism, Harbrook council proposed that under-16s should not be in the town centre after 9 pm without an adult. Police recorded 62 incidents last year, most between 9 pm and midnight. Shopkeepers signed a petition supporting the plan.

A youth council objected. They pointed out that most young people in town at night were going home from sports clubs or work, that the plan punishes a whole group for the acts of a few, and that the library and the bus interchange are in the town centre. They asked instead for a late bus and a youth space.

The council voted to trial the curfew for six months and to publish the crime figures at the end.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Give the strongest point on each side of the argument, using a fact from the case.
  2. Whose rights and whose responsibilities are involved here? Explain both.
  3. Write your own view on the curfew with reasons and one example.

  • Reading and response

    Reading

    Read the case in the lesson again and write what you think should happen, and why it is fair. Use one fact from the case as evidence.

    2 paragraphs (PEE)

  • Extended writing

    Writing

    Write your answer to the lesson's big question in full: the strongest point on each side, then your own view with reasons and an example.

    250–350 words

  • Reading log

    Reading

    Find one news story this week that links to this lesson. Note the headline, where you read it, and how it connects.

    1 story, 4–5 sentences

  • Two sides of the argument

    Writing

    Write the strongest point for, the strongest point against, and then your own view with a reason.

    3 paragraphs

  • Poster or leaflet plan

    Diagram

    Plan a leaflet that explains this right or responsibility to someone your age, then photograph it.

    1 planned page

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 17 · Watch & discover

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