citzenship(edexcel)

• What is a chief executive?


  An employee of the council, responsible for the smooth running of services
• What are business rates?

  A form of tax paid by all businesses in an area. The amount a business pays depends on the rent that could be charged for its premises.
• What is the citizens advice bureau?

  An organisation that offers free legal advice on consumer and other legal matters
• What is the trading standards department?

  An official body that enforces consumer based law
• What is a manifesto?


  A published statement of the aims and policies of a political party
• What's the first step in Alternative Dispute Resolution?

  Mediation .... tries to sort out the problem by asking two sides to set out the case
• If mediation doesn't work, where will the dispute then go?

  To an adjudicator or arbitrator who will make decisions the consumer and business have to accept
• What is the office of Fair Trading?

  A government office that can take action against traders who break the law.
• What did the magna cartas most important statement mean?

  That everyone is equal before the law and no one can be imprisoned without a fair trial.
• What three ways can you vote?

  Locally, nationally, internationally
• Why did employees begin to form trade unions?


  So they could negotiate with employers to reach fairer agreements on pay and working conditions
• Define discrimination


  Treating someone unfairly because of their colour, ethnic origins, race, gender etc.
• Define a convention


  An agreement often between countries.
• What is the United Nations?

  An international organisation that tries to encourage peace, co operation and friendship between countries
• How often does the government take a census?

  Every 10 years
• Main factors that change the size of a population

  Life expectancy and migrations
• What does the equality act 2010 ban?

  The unfair treatment of anyone who has one of the nine protected characteristics
• Pros of migration


  Immigrants fill job vacancies and help the skill gaps, they help the economy grow by paying taxes and the country benefits from cultural diversity
• Cons of migration


  Immigrants may be prepared to work for less,

  more people results and in more pressure on public services e.g. NHS,

  Unemployment may rise,

  Problems with integration,

  The ease of movement may result in people trafficking
• Stages of making a new law

  First reading, second reading, standing committee, report stage, House of Lords, royal assent
• Define parliamentary inquiry


  An enquiry set up to investigate actions taken by government departments and public bodies
• What is the cabinet?

  A group of MPs who head major government departments. Meets weekly to make decisions about how government policy will be carried out.
• Role of civil servants


  Develop and carry out policies
• What is canvassing


  When people try to persuade others to vote for their party in an election
• What is representative democracy?


  A form of democracy in which people elect a representative to make decisions for them
• How are MePs elected?

  By a system of proportional representation in which a part puts forward a list of candidates in order they'll be elected = closed list system
• Advantages of proportional representation

  No votes are wasted,

  Number of seats a party wins reflects the percentage of votes for each party
• Disadvantages of proportional representation

  Hard to stand as an independent candidate,

  Party can draw up list of candidates so only people who agree with powerful people will be elected,

  Elected MP has no local line in a big constituency.

  Small parties can have unfair power over larger parties by threatening to withdraw from coalition
• Disadvantages of first past the post

  Number of votes cast for a party does not reflect number of seas won,

  Smaller parties tend to win few seas as they don't have enough support in each constituency,

  People may vote tactically to keep a party out rather than for the party they believe in.
• Advantages of first past the post

  Extremist parties are unlikely to be elected as they won't be able to win enough votes in any one constituency

  Result comes clear very quickly so the winning party can take over government as soon as the election is over
• How many MPs are there?

  650
• Was political parties and candidates can attract voters?

  Send out leaflets, go canvassing, attract press coverage, hold hustings
• What type of democracy is the uk

  Representative democracy
• How do people vote in a direct democracy

  Through a referendum
• The law states you can't vote if you are a...?

  Member of House of Lords, EU resident in the UK, a convicted prisoner, been found guilty of corrupt practices in an election in the past 5 years
• Motives for deciding on a sentence for an offender

  To punish offender, to change offenders behaviour, to ensure offender does something to make up for crime, to reduce crime in the future
• In what situation is no jury involved?

  If the defendant pleads guilty
• Advantages of using an ombudsman


  Independent, free of charge, unbiased
• Advantages of mediation


  Cheaper than court, not adversial as it tries to get people to agree, more flexible and informal, quicker and there's more solutions than court, solution may be longlasting
• What does the crown prosecution service do?

  Advises police on cases for possible prosecution, reviews cases submitted by police for prosecution, prepares cases for court and presents them to court