BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit overview 1 Government, policies Unit Credits: 10 and the public services

A major part of the UKs government process is the democratic election of representatives to all levels of government including local, regional, national and European governments. Learners will examine the responsibilities that each level of government has to maintain effective public services, and will also explore the different electoral processes available, and those currently used. Learners will then investigate the main roles of elected representatives within the different government levels, including a brief investigation into the devolved parliaments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and also the European Parliament, although an in-depth knowledge of these is not required. Learners will also study the structure of government in the UK to explore the different levels, from central government to local councils. This will lead to knowledge of specific responsibilities of government departments and other organisations involved in the government structure, including their relationship to the public services. The unit will explain how government policies are developed, give an understanding of the legislative process and the effects that government policies can have upon the public services, the personnel working within them and the provision of services. PLTS and functional skills are both incorporated into the unit and linked with assessment activities providing learners with the opportunity to generate evidence for additional qualifications. On completion of this unit, learners should: LO1 know the different levels of government in the UK LO2 understand the democratic election process for each level of government in the UK LO3 understand the impact of UK government policies on the public services LO4 be able to demonstrate how government policies are developed.

Unit contents
The scheme of work (page 3) links to the following resources to help you deliver Unit 1.
LO1 Lesson plan Activity sheet Stretch and support PowerPoint

LO2 AS4, AS5 E2

LO3 LP AS6, AS7 E3 PPT

LO4 AS8, AS9, AS10 E4

AS1, AS2, AS3 E1

All of these resources can be found on the accompanying CD-ROM, as well as an editable version of the scheme of work, and answers to questions in the Student Book.

Links to other units

Unit 1 links to other units in this public services qualification as shown below and provides lots of opportunities to cross-reference and combine assignment work for these units.
BTEC Level 3 National Public Services units Unit 3 Citizenship and diversity Unit 7 International institutions and human rights

How to deliver the unit

This unit should be made as practical as possible and should encourage learners to explore their own views and opinions through discussion and research opportunities. The unit should be very learner centred and learners should be encouraged to find information independently or in small groups so that they can begin to gain the independence and research skills that are necessary if they are going to succeed on a level 3 course. You should make extensive use of visiting speakers from the public services, or from government organisations, and local MPs. The local police service or the local careers officers for the armed services

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Unit 1 Government, policies and the public services

BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

may be willing to come in to your centre and discuss the impact that government policies have on their service; your local MP could be your first point of contact when speaking to the learners. You could also consider a visit to the Houses of Parliament in London, or any of the regional assemblies. This will have to be in negotiation with your local MP, but the visit will have an impact on the learners and will most certainly apply practice to theory. The activity sheets will support your delivery and can be adapted to suit individuals, pairs and small groups. The scheme of work also includes suggestions for delivery. Further sources of help to learners include accessing newspapers for news websites online, such as BBC news, to ensure they keep up to date on current issues in communities, public services and politics, which should provide lots of opportunities for discussion and debate.

Useful resources
There are many different sources of help and resources that are available online. Some of the websites that may support learning for this area are listed below. It may also be possible to use websites in class that will bring up-to-date community and cultural issues into the classroom, such as BBC News or YouTube.

Websites
10 Downing Street www.number10.gov.uk Direct Gov public services all in one place www.direct.gov.uk HM Treasury www.hm-treasury.gov.uk Information for local government from central government www.info4local.gov.uk Information on policies and standards for e-government www.govtalk.gov.uk Tagish independent software development and consultancy firm (provides links to central and local government websites) www.tagish.co.uk/links The Home Office www.homeoffice.gov.uk UK Parliament www.publications.parliament.uk

Books
Axford, B. et al. Politics: An Introduction, 2nd edition (Routledge, 1997) Peele, G. Governing the UK, 4th edition (Blackwell Publishers, 2004)

Articles from journals and magazines

Fire Police Review Prison News Soldier The Economist The Spectator The Week

Pearson Education Ltd 2010. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free.