Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship

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LIFEINTHEUNITED KINGDOM

HomeOffice A

Journeyto Citizenship

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hefirstedition ofthishandbook became abest-seller when itcame outtowards theend people 0f2004. willhave Some bought itoutofinterest, orawish toknow more about theUnited Kingdom's history andinstituiions. Andmany willhave more obtained itasastudy guide forthenewtests ofknowledge about lifeintheUnited Kingdom which webrought in during forpeople whowant 2005 tobecome British citizens.

i h e H o m e5 e ( r e t a r y I h e R t H o n J o h n R e i dM P

Those withthenewcitizenship te$s, together ceremonies which celebrate theachievement of people newBritons inbecoming have citizens, areal They have been success. encouraged who have inBritain decided tomake theirlives tolearn more about ourculture andinstitutions, and inmany rases t0improve theirknowledge ofourlanguage. Wethink thatthebenefits ofthis approach increating strong andcohesive communities areclear. That iswhy, from 2April 2007, people wewillalso intheUnited beasking whoapply forpermanent settlement Kingdompass which must beobtained before someone canapply forcitizenship-to thesame test. Wehave taken theopportunity torevise Iwould thishandbook thoroughly. liketothank heartily themembers Board oftheAdvisory onNaturalisation whohave ledthistask. andIntegration Wehave taken account ofthemanv romments made about thehandbook. youarereading Whether thishandbook inorder totake thesettlement orsimply test, to your knowledge increase ofBritish lifeandinstitutions, I hope that,likemany thousands of you others, willfinditboth interesting and helpful.

Howtousethishandbook

This handbook isintended forthose readers whoareintending tobecome Toprovide extra help forreaders whoarenotnative English speaken, we permanent residents 0rcitizens 0ftheUnited Kingdom, provided andarestudying have attheendofthehandbook aglossary ofsome keywords itinorder t0take thetests ofknowledge ofEnglish andoflifeinthe andphrases, youmay which findhelpful. Wehave also highlighted some United Kingdom which allapplicants now need topass. areas thatareparticularly important. These you areheaded'Make sure ju$these understand'but areintended onlyasguidance; reading sections 5ince 2005, everyone whoapplies tobecome aBritish citizen hashadto willnotbeenough topass thetest. You may notgetquestions 0nthese show theirknowledge oftheEnglish language andoflifeintheUnited highlighted areas, andyoumay beasked about topics thathave notbeen (English Kingdom inoneoftwoways. They cantake aspecial t50L for highlighted. youread 5oplease make sure each chapter carefully. 5peaken ofOther Languages) course, which uses teaching materials based onthepractical meaning ofcitizenship. 0rtheycantake thenew Wewould youtcthinkcarefully purchasing also advise before anyofrhe LifeintheUKtest, which consists of24questions about important aspects study guide(t0 theLifeintheUKtestwhich cansometimes befound in penon bookshops oflifeinBritain today. Those 24questions willbedifferent foreach orontheinternet. None ofthese isofficially approved, even taking thetest.Ihe LifeintheUKTest willnormally inEnglish, though betaken some suggest theyare, andmay notbe0fmuch help toyou. although special arrangements canbemade ifanyone wishes totake itin Some youbysuggesting youmemorise might mislead even answers to Welsh questions orSconish Gaelic.Ihe aredeliberately written inaway questions genuine thataren't youwill andarevery differcnt totheones thatrequires (called beasked anunderstanding oftheEnglish language atthelevel inyour test. ES0L Entry 3level) thatthelawrequires ofpeople becoming British citizens. 5othere isnoneed iotake aseparate testofknowledge ofthe lfyouwant tofindoutmore information about theLifeintheUKtest, English language. please visitthewebsite ofUFl, thecompany thatmanages them 0n (www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk) behalf oftheHome This Office. website From 2April 2007, everyone whoapplies forpermanent residenre inthe gives contact forcentres details where thetestcanbetaken, background (often United Kingdom called settlement'or'indefinite leave toremain') information about thetests andthefees involved, andalso offers a willalso need toquali!either bytaking thespeclal ES0L course orby youanidea sample testtogive ofwhat toexpect. lfyouwantinformation passing theLifeintheUKtest. Aperson whoqualifies forsettlement in permane,nt about thealternative way0fobtaining residence bytaking a either ofthese ways proces willnotneed tog0through thesame again special ESOL withcitizenship rourse, theUFI helpline on0800 0154245, ifheorshelater toapply decides forBritish citizenship. This handbook andyour local library, aregood sources ofinformation oncolleges offering questions rontains alltheanswers t0the thatmay beasked intheLife these courses inyour area. questions intheUKtest. The willallbebased onchapters 2,3,4,5and 6ofthehandbook. You donothave t0study theother chapters inorder The Government welcomes newmigrants toBritain. Wevery much tobeable topass thetest, butwehope andbelieve thatthey willbeof qualifications hope thatthose whomeet ourresidence anddecide to interest andpractical tlalue t0many readers andtheywillcertainly help spend permanent theirlives inthiscountry willseek settlement, and your youwillbetested understanding ofthechapters on.The handbook willeventually goontobecome British citizens. That iswhywecallour hasbeen written t0ensure thatanyone whocanread English AtheE50L handbookA Journey to[itizenshipi Wehope thatthisjourney willbea Entry 3level orabove should have nodifficulty withthelanguage. fascinating worthwhile and one foryou.

CONTENTS

(haoter 5:EVERYDAY NEEDS continued

1:THEMAKING ftapter 0FTHEUNITED KINGD0M What's inaname? Early Britain The Middle Ages period The early modern growth Stability andthe ofempire The 20thcentury 1945 Politics inBritain since

7 8 10 13 17 21 73

A CHANGING chaoter2: S0ClETY Migration toBritain The changing roleofwomen (hildren, people family andyoung

Leisure Travel andtransport

Looking forwork Equal rights anddiscrimination Atwork Working foryourself Childcare andchildren atwork

(hapter3: A PROFILE UKT0DAY: Population Thenations andregions oftheUK Religion Customs andtraditions

Civil courts 35 Legal advice andaid l7 Human rights 38 Children protection 40 Consumer

The British Constitution The UKinEurope andtheWorld (hapter NEEDS 5:EVERYDAY Housing Services inandforthehome Money andcredit Health Education

71

(hapter6: EMPL0YMENT

27 THELAW 29 chapterT: KN0WING 30 Therights andduties ofacitizen (riminalcourts

(hapter4: HOWTHEUNITED KINGD0M 15G0VERNED

69

75 77 79 82 B4

87 90 90 91 92 96 97

ftaptera:50URCES 0FHELP ANDINF0RMATION 43 lntroduction libraries 52 Public (CAB) Citizens Advice Bureau police The service Other sources ofinformation 55 BETTER C0MMUNITIES 5B (haptere: BUILDING 60

101 102 'r03 103 104 107

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GLOSSARY

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[hapter 1:

0understand acountry it isimportant toknow something about itshistory. This

political depends ontheir and

isabrief section chronological account ofhowtheUnited Kingdom came tobewhat

cultural allegiances. People bornin England willmore oftensaythat

it istoday. Anyaccount however, isonlyoneinterpretation. ofhistory, Historians often

their nationality aswellastheir

disagree about what inhistorical toinclude andwhat toexclude accounts. Aswellas

citizenship isBritish.

people themain historical events andpeople, thissection also mentions whoarenot

Many important institutions are

necessarily themostimportant historically, butwhose names inbooks, often appear

common to[ngland, Scotland, Wales andNorthern lreland, such asthelaws andcustoms

newsoaoers andonTV.

ofthe[onstitution, theIrown asasymbolof unity, and parliamentary andrepresentative Ihere issome confusion about therorrect meanings anduse

Northern lreland. government. There arealso Buttherearemany several islands which areclosely important differences between oftheterms'United Kingdomi linked withtheUnited Kingdom England, Scotland, Wales and 'British lslesl'Britain' and'Brltishi butdonotformpartofit the Northern lreland. Scotland, Wales

The Kingdom United consists

[hannel lslands andthelsle of

today offourcountries: England, Man. These have kepttheirown institutions Scotland, Wales andNorthern ofgovernment andare (therest lreland isan called'Irown Tenitoriesi oflreland independent country). These fourcountries came together at different timestoformaunion

IntheUnited Kingdom, national identity andcitizenship donot

called theUnited Kingdom of

always mean thesame thing. The

Great Britain andNorthern lreland, Scottish andWelsh willusually (or which istheofficial name say of thattheyhave Briiish thecountry. Thename'Britain' UK) citizenship, butthattheir or'Great Britain'refers onlyto England, Scotland andWales, not

nationality isScottish orWelsh. people InNorthern lreland some

people toNorthern Ireland. iheadjective saytheyareBritish, some 'British; howevet refers say usually theyarelrish andsome toeveryone intheUK,including people saytheyareboth. This

andNorthern lreland nowhave parliaments orassemblies oftheir own,withIimited butsignifrant powen. lnsport there arefour different football which teams play separately ininternational competiiions, butthereisonlyone teamforthewhole Olympic ofthe United Kingdom. lnaddition tonational divenity, there isavery long tradition of ethnic andreligious diversity in goes theUnited Kingdom. This back toearly history, asyouwill seeinthischapter.

lnveryearlyhistory thelandwas populated bytribes whocame totheBritish lsles fromdifferent partsofEurope. Stonehenge, the great prehistoric temple whichstill

In55BttheRomans, whohad anempire covering most ofthe Mediterranean lands, firstcame to Britain withJulius [aesar. Nearl, years ahundred latertheycame

stands inwhatisnowtheEnglish back andbegan aconquest ofall county isoneofthe ofWiltshire, ofBritain except thehighlands greai monuments ofprehisto'ic ofScotland. There wasstrong Europe. lnIatercenturies Britain opposition fromthenative tribes wasinvaded by[eltictribes who whofought totrytokeep the hadasophisticated culture and Romans out.Afamous tribal economy. Thepeople spoke [eltic leader whofought theRomans

wasBoudicca, thequeen ofthe lceni inwhatisnoweastern

TheRomans hadabigimpact on lifeinBritain. Before theyleftin 4'10AD,theyestablished medical practire, rreated astructure of

England. Latetwhenthetribes in thesouth ofthe island hadbeen conquered, oneoftheemperon, admini$ration andlaWandbuilt Hadrian, public builtawallinthenorth great buildings androads. orEngland tokeep outthePirts Ihelanguage oftheRomans was (ancestors people; Latin people oftheScottish Those local who theScots wereoriqlnally learned atribe tospeak, read andwrite whocame over from lreland). Latinoftenbecame admini$raton Parts ofthiswallcanstillbeseen today.

andtraders.

dialects which la{er became the languages whicharespoken loday partsofWales, insome Scotland andlreland.

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gradually Inthe8thand9threnturiet AstheRoman Empire became weaker, n€w tribes Vikings fomDenmark and invaded fromnorthern Europe Norway invaded Britain and looking forbetter land. These lreland. They conquered many were called theJutes, Angles ofthesmall kingdoms oftheeast people andSaxons. Ihese spoke ofEngland and Scotland. dialects which laier became in 6radually thekingdoms people England thebasis The ofEnglish. were under the united fought ofBritain against these kings ofWessex andbecame newinvaders andwere ledfora strong tofightagainst enough while inthe6thcentury bythe theMkings. King Alfred theGreat legendary King Arthur. Eventually,defearcd inEngland theVikings at however, theinvaden tookover theendofthefthcentury. They allofsouthern andeastern Britain, were inScotland also defeated setting upthekownkingdoms andlreland. Yetmany oftheViking andpushing theBritons tofte invaders in stayed, especially west and tothenorth. theeast ofEngland where man,, names ofplaces come fromthe During the6thtentury, Viking languages. farmed They missionaties fromRome ledby theland, mixed withthelocal populations StAugustine came toBritain andronverted to andspread thenewreligion Forawhile inthe of {hristianity. (hristianity across thesouth. 1lthcentury theyagain ruled (anute. Monks fromlreland didthesame England under King Their inthenorth languages influence ofBriuin. also hadan ontheearly forms oftnglish and, inScotland, on6aelic.

After King Canute, theSaxons again ruled [ngland until an invasion ledbyWilliam, Duke of (part Normandy oftoday's France) in1066. Heisalso called Wlliam theConqueror Wlliam defeated Harold, theKing ofEngland, atthe battle ofHastings. The Norman Conquest wasthelastsuccessful foreign invasion ofEngland. The Normans took complete ownership land ofthe and introdu{ed new laws and administration. Norman French became language theofficial andhadabiginfluenre onthe Anglo-Saxon language ofthe people. common The Normans andthekings whofollowed them began theconquest ofWales and parts some oflreland. They did notyetinvade srotland butthe Scottish kings andnobility inthe south were strongly influenced - French byNorman culture. The firstJewish intheU|( settlemen6 were also established atthistime. William the[onqueror encouraged from France to in Jews settle grew Jewish rommunities Britain. upinseveral towns andcities.

l

period The after theNorman language became compulsory for purposes. [onquest iscalled theMiddle Ages legal andofficial period. orthemedieval lt lasted until about 1485. ltwas atimeof almost constant war. lnthe12th and13thcenturies, many kniqhts part fromtheBritish lsles took in inwhich the[rusades, European (hristians fought forcontrol of

During theMiddle Ages, the kings English alsofought along warwrththeFrench, called the Hundred Yean Wan TheEnglish wonsome important battles against theFrench, such as

Jerusalem andofother cities in thebanle which ofAqincour{, King theHoly Land. Richard I Shakespeare inhisplay describes (known asRichard theLionheart) Henry V.Later theFrench fought much spent ofhisreign taking back andreclaimed theircountry. partintheCrusades. Athome, theEnglish kings triedto dominate theWelsh, theScots and thelrish. TheScots, ledbyRobert

Theorigins ofParliament lieinthe earlyMiddle Ages. Before 1215, there were nolaws tolimitthe power ofthekingofEngland. The powerful most landowners, the barons, wanted tomake sure that their voices were heard andthat newtaxes could onlybemade '12'15, withtheiragreement. ln the barons forced KingJohn tosigna charter ofrights called theMagna (which [arta means theGreat Charted. This wasnotacharter people, ofrights forthecommon butit didtakeaway theabsolute power oftheking. Thekingcould noIonger collect with0ut taxes the

theEnglish kings were unable to(onquer thescots during the

consent ofthebarons. Tomake or change lawshehadtoconsult and negotiale wilhthem. Attheend '13th ofthe century, Parliament gradually became theplace

Middle Ages.

where thekingconsulted withhis

theBruce, defeated theEnglish at thebattle ofBannockburn in1314;

subjects. lnWales, however, theEnglish managed thepower of todestroy princes theWelsh by1300.They huge castles tomaintain built power their andbythemiddle of thelastWelsh the15th century putdown. rebellions hadbeen

TheEnglish Parliament wasnot parliaments unique: there were inScotland andmuch oftherest ofEurope intheMiddle Ages. The English Parliament did,however,

From 1536, England imposed its

become themost developed in Europe. Thearistocrats andgreat

laws onWales andtheEnglish

Iandownen satintheHouse

ofLords, butthere was a also separate House ofCommons. The House of[ommons represented landowners country andwealthy people inthemarket towns and cities. Judges began todevelop English common lawbyaprocess ofprecedent They andtradition. were independent oftheCrowr,. InScotland there were similar developments, except thatthere were three Houses ofParliament (called'estatej), theLords, the [ommons andtheclergy, and thelegal system developed as acodified onethelaws were written down.

lnEngland, inNorman times, under thesystem called feudalism, landlords owned the landandthepeople whoworked ontheir land were called serfs. They didnotearnanymoney for theirworkonthelandandwere notallowed tomove away, but they didhave asmall area ofthe lord's land onwhich theygrew enouqh foodtosurvive. Thesame system developed insouthern Scotland, butinthenorth of Scotland andinlreland land was owned inrommon bymembers of thetlansl In1348,athirdofthepopulairon of[ngland died intheplague called theBlack Death This was oneofthe worst disasten ever tostrike Britain andEurope but because itcreated ashortaqe oflabour lt helped toimprove conditions forthepoor inthe lonq run. gradually The feudal system changed toasystem based onwages. New social clases appeared, including large gentry landownen called and yeomen. smaller farmers called

Ihey much more became AttheendoftheMiddle Ages, During theMiddle Ages France, an engineers from 6ermany, great independent glass ofthe landlordsthere was civilwar in [nglish language a30-year and culture manufacturers fromltalyand than theirancestors hadbeen. between ln England twoaristocratk gradually into from came being. This canal builders Holland. ln growing groupt thetowns, wealth led the5upporten ofthe was 16,000 amixture ofAnglo-Saxon and 1440 were foreigners there (orfamily) tothedevelopment ofastrong House ofLancasler Norman French. Great 190 cathedrals inEngland, approximately of middle clasbytheend ofthe oftheHouse andthose ofYork, were buillmany inuse thepopulation. ofthem medievalperiod. This warwasknown yean astheWars today. Three hundred after people oftheRoses, berause thesymbol theNorman Conquest, ofLancaster wasaredrose and inEngland began tothinkof thewhite rose was thesymbol themselves asonenation.0ne of ofYork. In1485 thecivilwar thefirstworks ofliterature tobe when Tudor won ended Henry written inEnglish, alongpoem thebattle ofBosworth, killing called'The [anterbury Tales' by Richard lll.Henry King became Geoffrey Chaucer was wriilen HenryVll, the andestablished attheendofthe14th century. dynasty oftheHouse ofTudor. Itdescribes themany different Vlldeliberately weakened kinds Henry ofpeople whometand power went theindependent military aspilqilms toacitycalled poem ofthearistocracy andbegan to Canterbury. The isstill power popular strengthen thecentral of today. InScotland, the thestate. Middle Ages saw thedrvelopment language which ofthe Scots was significantly from different theEnglish spoken south ofthe Scottish border period This wasalso atimeof trade. Merchants from came Germany andltaly. There were also people whocame with toEngland special such from skills, asweavers

HenryVll hadalteady begun tostrengthen thecentral administration ofEngland and power reduce themilitary ofthe aristocracy. HissonHenry Vlll continued thispolicy. HenryVlll wasmost famous forbreaking from the[hurch away ofRome.

Iheyread called Prote*ants. the Henry Vlll's onlysonandheirwas attemptof theSpanish Armada' (orfleet)toconquer Bible intheir languages Edward. own Edward was strongly England and (alholicism instead ofinLatin, andinterpretedProtestant, buthedied re$ore atthe in1588. itforthemselves. The Protestantsage hishalf-sister of15and queen. lnScotland theProtestant believed thatearh individual's Mary became Mary was personal wasmore relationship withGod extreme adevout [alholic andbrought reformation was changes of ofsupreme importance. England toobedience back tothe andledtoconstant g0vernment.'Mary, of The believed Pope. Mary, Caholics thatit Under Protestants Queen wasacousin persecuted. was ofilizabeth essentialt0 submit t0the were Mary, too,died Scotsi (hurch, queen Vlllwanted I andwascrowned of Henry adivorce authority ofthe asled. after onlyashort reign andthe hiswife, while because [atherine of bythePope. Protestant ideas shewasonlya nextmonarch washerhalf-sister,Scotland gradually gained Hermother Aragon, hadnotgiven hima in wasFrench, strength Elizabeth, aProtestant. Elizabeth baby. (atholic. lnorder so Mary was a Therival surviving heir. togeta during the I was England andScotland more moderate thanMar/ groups inScotland fought andremarry heneeded 16th butwere much less Inherreligion. to divorce ieniury, 5here-established control Mary. When herhusband theapproval ofthePopg who inlreland. successful the[hurch ofEngland andthe hadauthority over allChristians in byherlover and [hristian religion aspractired wasmurdered western When hersiluation became more Europe. thePcpe Inlreland, the[nglish attempted inEngland became known as dangerous, refused, the Protestantism Mary fled toEngland. Henry established toimpose and Anglicanism. Elizabeth expected governing The king, Elizabeih l,however, Church not English laws believed ofEngland. the etleryone but toanend church questions Marywanted nowhadthepower inheritance leaden totrytotakeover thePope, to ofland. The of didnotask about theEnglish throne, appoint thebishops andtoderree thetribes inlreland, thechieftains,lheirreal andkeptherln beliefs. Bykeeping years. for Mary whatpeople were required to rebelled captivity 20 Later against theEnglish and toa'middle way'between the wasmuch accused ofplotting believe. there brutal fighting (atholics andthemore extreme wasexecuted, (later Elizabeth l. the Proteslants between theEnglish and Puritans),against called peace Atthesame timetheReformationlrish rebels. This crcated asense flizabeth managed tokeep -agreat movementof opinion ofnational consciousness which inEngland, despite hermany lreland. against thepower ofthePope- united Many ofthe enemies. Gradually, howevet popularity was happening in[ngland, Norman-English whohadsettled ElizabethS rose, along inlreland Scatland, andmafly remained tatholic. withstrong feelings oftnglish other pople patriotism, The These European countries. became stronger whoopposed Pope were when the theEnglish defeated the

period Today theElizabethan is remembered fortherichness of itspoetry anddrama, especially poems fortheplays and of Shakespeare, whoisstillwidely recognised asthegreatest period writer inEnglish.Ihe is also important forEngland's discoveries andtrade overseas, al when atime European power cOuntries began t0exert parts inother of andinfluence theworld. SirFrancis Drake, commander inthedefeat ofthe Spanish Armada, wasoneof thefounders ofEngland's naval InElizabeth tradition. 1ttime, English settlers firstbegan to colonise theea$ern coast of America, which amovement greatly increased inthenext cenrury.

When Elizabeth ldiedin1603, Atthistime, lreland wasanalmost During thereigns ofElizabeth I (atholic shehadnochildren. Hernearest completely country. and l,theEnglish James relative wasthekingofScotland, England powerful hadbegun invasions into Parliament became more (in James Vl.James wasthesonof lreland many centuries before andinfluential.The king, Lords Mary, ofScots, buthewas thetimes oftheNormanil buthad and Queen [ommons were supposed aProtestant. Hebecame King onlysucceeded inoccupying land tobemutually dependent and James IofEngland butthetwo around Dublin, anarea called the respectful ofeach other, butthere 'Palei countries didnotbecome united The Tudor kings Henry Vll were strong merchant and atthistime. Scotland kept itsown andHenryVlll hadmanaged to commercial interests intheHouse parliament foranother hundred gaincontrol ofthewhole country ofCommons, representing a yean andstillhasitsownsystem andstarted tointroduce English growing middle class, many of oflaw. laws andtobreak down thepower whom wanted amore strongly ofthelocal policy. leaden. During the Protestant Elizabeth I had rule political ofElizabeth, rebellions many skills andtried to against theEnglish broke out, balance these intere$s. James I (harles strengthened bytheattempts and hisson l,however, government ofthe English were lesskilled to inmanaging abolish thepower ofthe(atholic these conflicts. Many thinken in Church. After one ofthese Europe atthattimebelieved inthe rebellions, Ibegan James apolicy theory of'thedivine right of 'plantation'or of colonisation by kings'+hat theking wasdirectly (harles force inUlster, thenorth-easternappointed byGod. Iwas province This involved particufa{ly oflreland. influenced bythese (atholic replacing the landholdersideas when hecould not and, withEnglish and especially getParliament toagree withhis policies, Scottish Protestant farmers. Many religious andforeign he 'planten'went toUlster, mainly triedtorulewithout calling any from thesouth-west of5cotland. more Parliaments. Anumber of (atholic policies Land from taken the refugees from thereligious given rebels was tocompanies in ofJames IandCharles Idecided London. These events hadserious tosettle inAmerica, where lhey long term consequences for established Puritan thenew England, Scotland andlreland. colonies ofNew Ingland.

years ltried toimpose After four Iwas inthe19th Parliament [harles the [harles Later, century, the decided that the general, English thurch defeated byParliament's was ceremonies ofthe of came tosee Cromwell best solution tobring back England ontheProtestants thePuritan 0liver Cromwell. asthedefender ofParliament's Charles llfromhisexile inthe who were however, refused rights ofScotland, called [harles, to against the(rown. When Netherlands. In1660 hewas Presbylerians. Inresponse, compromise withParliament Cromwell howevet recalled died, there toEngland andcrowned (harles power theScots invaded thenorth of was executed in1649.Ihe wasnocredible king. llwanted and successor tohis but (harles power money Parliament itself England. needed hadtosubmit andnoclear system of healso understood thattorule government inpeace tofighttheScots andthiscould totheruleofitsownarmy and inplace.Ihe civil hecould notrepeat his byParliament, ofParliament who warhad religious fathers mistakes. Hewaspopular onlybegranted but Members created and peace political groups enough when it melin1640, Parliament wanted withtheking extremism. Some togetParliament to years ofpeople questioned Foreleven refused tovote togivemoney to were expelled. thewhole support hispolicies and, though (atholic, for theking fight this war. Many England became a republic foundation he was secretly he to ofthesociety andthe a inParliament were Puritans who, theonly timeinitshistory, under ideas ofproperty andsocial class. re-established thepower ofthe party, Church liketheScots, fintEnglish opposed theking's theleadership of0liver Cromwell,The democratic ofEngland. The Puritans policies; whotookthetitleofLord ProtectortheLevellers, religious they saw no hadbriefly flourishedwho had ruled England and inParliament's reason tohelphimsuppress the from 1653. armies butbythe Scotland were during theRepublic timeofCromwell's kept 5cots. death most outofpower andveated Many Scots hadbitterly opposed people were tired ofchange and harshly. l,who wished When theGtholics oflreland, theexecution ofCharles forareturn tostability. (harles whowere thatParliament was theirkingaswell,andsoon had nolegitimate afraid religion, his might anack their afterwards they crowned children.When hedied in1685 (harles rebelled in1641, Parliament son asKing ll.(romwell hisbrother, ll,who was James intwobattles control ofthearmy defeated Charles, openly [atholic, king. Ihe demanded became they feared theking atDunbar andWorcestet and Protestant majority inEngland because it rapidly wonied would useagainst them. Charlesbrought Scotland completely became thathe fiveparliamentaryunder hiscontrol. Healso finally might wish toabolish Itried toanest the(hurch rebellion which leaders, whofled. The chairman putdown thelrish ofEngland andforce England back (the had begun in1641, using so totheobedience ofthePope. All ofthe House of[ommons hisshort refused totelltheking much violence thateven today the James's actions during Speaker) isstillhated reign-his appointment of[atholics where theyhadgone andsaid that memory of[romwell hisdefiance lrish asarmy officers, o{ hewasloyal onlytothecommandbysome Catholics. thelaws made byParliament and [ivil oftheHouse ofCommons. quarrels withthebishops his ot in1642. warbroke outinEngland

public the(hurch ofEngland-made In1688, thegreat lords holding who office andthere these suspi(ions stronger. were opposed toJames ll were restrictions many other placed conspired toaskWlliam of onthe[atholic fturch. 0range, Prote$ant the ruler ofthe lreland remained adeeply Netherlands, toinvade [ngland troubled country. proclaim himself and king. William wasmarried ll! toiames daughter, Mary. When he invaded, there wasnoresistance inEngland, andheandMary' This tookover thethrone. chanqe was later called the'6lorious Revolution' inEngland because itwas accomplished without bloodshed andbecause itended power. thethreat ofarbitrary royal James ll stillhadmany supporterl apecially inScotland andlreland, whowere called Jacobites. James was determined toreclaim the crown English andgotmilitary support foraninvasion ofkeland from thepowerful kingofFnncg XlV. Wlliam Louis defeated llat Jamesthebattle ofthe '1690, in Boyne andJames fled toFrance while Wlliamt armies re-conquered lreland. thisvictory isstillcelebrated byPrcteitant loyalists today. Toprevent any rebellions, thelrish further prohibitd were fiom Gtholics

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After 1688, many Acts of elect whoever hewished.TheseWlliam and Mary's successor, When Anne diedin1714, Queen permanently Parl iament were changed called'pocket boroughsi Queen hadnosurviving Parliament Anne, chose aGerman, governmentGeorge thebalance where ofpower between while small boroughs the l,tobethekingofBritain, children. IheEnglish monarch andParliament. Anew voters bebribed were called became could worried thattheScots because hewasAnnet nearest 'rotten Parliament hadtobeelected at borouohsl would adifferent Protestant relative. The choose heirto newking (later years political power least this every three thethrone than theEnglish. The stillhadsome and years putpresure became seven andnow English ontheScots influence butwasmuch more year itisfiveyears). Every the tojoinEngland inanActofUnion, dependent onhisministers and monarch hadtoaskPadiament called theTreaty ofUnion in theirfollowers whocould control place torenew funding forthearmy The Scotland.This took in1707. Parliament. members of andthenavy. lnorder togovern The kingdoms ofEngland theHouse of(ommons andthe and effectively, had themonarch to Scotland became theKingdom House ofLords called themselves have ministers ina(abinet who lthadoneflag ofGreat Bftain. eitherWhigs orTories {aname could regularly deliver amajority theUnion flagoften called the today stillused torefer tothe (lhe ofvotes inthetwoHouses Union Ja*. Kingdom of modern Conservative Party), but parties The ofParliament monarch Great Britain became theUnited truepolitical h,ithmass political remained animportant Kingdom ofGreat Britain membenhip and didnotemerge until ,l801, figure fortwomore centuries but lreland in asecond thelate19th most after century.lhe could notinsist onpolicies that ActofUnion. ln1922 lreland split important minister inParliament Parliament would notsupport: intotwo-the South became a became known asthePrime thisiscalled' con$itutional dominion andtheNorth remainedMinister:the fintman tohold this monarchyl AfterWlliam lll,the intheUnion.The Government office wasSirRobertWalpolq who gradually monarch's ministen for20years oflreland Actof1922 created wasPffine Minister important became more than the theUnited Kingdom ofGreat unril 1742. government monarch. The ofthe Britain lreland.) andNorthern timewasnotdem0cratic because While Scotland wasnolonger an men iftheyowned could onlyvote independent theScots country, property ofacertain value, and obtained advantages trading nowomen were fiomunion allowed tovote. withEngland while hadonlya Some constituencies keeping theirownlegal system fewelectors traditional laws, andwere completely and andthe controlled byasingle aristocrat Presbyterian remained [hurch whocould force law thevoters to established by

The lBth century was atime however, Generally, thelBth Britain was thefi6trountry andspices withlndiaand began peace ofrelative within Britain. century inBritain wasatime toindu$rialise onalarge inthearea whichtoday iscalled (hanges However, in1745 peace there was ofgreater domestic and scale. infarming, Indonesia. TheBritish fought with inScotland arebellion ledby tolerance thanpreviously. ltwas metalworking, mining techniquestheDutch andSpanish traden (Bonnie Iharles Stuart Prince atimeofmany newideas in power and theuse ofsteam foramonopoly oftradeinthe (aribbean. politics, philosophy Charlie), thegrandson of greater andscience brought efficiency and 0ften, trade ledtothe James ll.Hewassupported mainly which production. together areoften called increased Ihefint annexation ofnewtenitories: Ihe intheHighlands theEnlightenment. byclansmen Many ofthe large factories were built and East IndiaCompany, interested greatest inhisattemptto regain the people British thinkers ofthe many gradually migrated from the atfi6t onlyinirading, British throne forhisfamily. The Enlightenment, such asDavid countryside totherities towork qained control ofvasttenitories king's army ruthlessly repressed Hume andAdam Smith, came inthem. people inIndiainthecouneofthe18th Although many thepower andinfluence ofthe from Scotland. Perhaps the leftBritain lreland and forthenew century. principles clans after defeating them atthe mostimportant ofthe colonies, thepopulation expanded battle ofCulloden in1745. lhe Enlightenment werethateveryone rapidly. The fintJews tocome to clans lost collective ownership should have therighttotheirown Britain since theMiddle Ages had '1656 (hieftains ofthe land. became political religious and beliefs and settled inLondon in and landlords onlythrough thefavour thatthestateshould notattempt between 1680 and1720 many kingandclansmen todictate oftheEnglish inthese matters. refugees came fromFrance. Ihese became tenants whohadtopay were called Huguenots. Ihey fortheland they used. Inthe were Protestants andhadbeen I9thcentury, many landlords penecuted fortheirreligion. Many individual destroyed small farms were educated and skilled and make ortrofts'to space forlarge worked asscientists orinbanking, flocks ofsheep inwhat were inweaving orother safts. called the'Highland clearancesl people Many were deported orleft Atthesame time, there wasan forNorth America aspartofthe increase intrade overeas andin clearances. colonisation. Britain expanded itspower allorler theworld. Merchants traded withNorth America theWest Indies, and bringing back sugar, tobacco and goods. oiher Irade intextiles, tea

There was tothis Wlliam Wilberforce, were anevilside trade. They and opposed totheslave commercial expansion put pressure prosperity-the Atlantic slave trade. onParliament to had abolish Public opinion Iheslave trade started in slavery. theslave theElizabethan eraandwas fully gradually turned against itbecame illEal established bytheI8thcentury. trade andin1807 Itwasdominated slaves inBdtish or byBritain and totrade ships ports. in1833, thecolonies inAmerica. The slave fromBrithh l"ater, men Actabolished traders bought andwomen theEmancipation I from West Afrio,andBritish slavery throughout theBritbh took them towork Empire. After'l 833, 2million ships onthe (hinese plantations in lndian and workers sugar andtobacco America ]he replaced thefreed slaves. They andthe[aribbean. plantations were transported invery worked inthe slaves onsugar inSouth many died mines Africa, badconditionsand on Caribbean, intheAmericat railways inEast Aftica theway. 0nce andinthe prop€rty in theslaves became the armyKenya. ownen andhad oftheplantation inappalling conditions. towork intheU[ such Several cities as gained Liverpool andSristol, great prosperity asaresult ofthis trade. Inl8th-century London, there Afiicans were numbers offree and working as escaped slavet often Some wrote servants orcraftsmen. their experiences. books about inthe The conditions oftheslaves were sobadthatmany colonies revolted their slaves against people inBritain, owners.5ome such astheevangelkal ftristian

American InNorth America theBritish The colonies defeated withthehelp colonies hadprospered andwere theBritish army of period lmmigrantstheFrench. After mainly self-governing. abrief from Scotland ofpeace, wanwithFrance England, and lreland hadgone toNorth Americacontinued, especially after the 'l Revolution lmking forabetter lifeandalso French of 789. toescape Britaint navy atthattimewas the thedominance ofthe inEurope. Britain fought landlords andoftheestablished str0ngest The notion ofliberty was against rombined French church. and flee6, winning thebattle very strong inthecolonies. When Spanilh governmenl in1805. ln1815 theBritish tiedto ofTrafalgar the pay French taxthecolonies to fortheir Wars ended withthedefeat wars America Napoleon inNorth against the oftheEmperor bythe French American Duke ofWellington atWaterloo. andtheNative tribes, therolonies rebelled. They said there Britain ruled tenitories should be'no taxation In18'15, (anada, parts in in the Caribbean, without representation' the Parliament. Parliament ofIndia, andafewsettlements Bdtish andsouthern Afiica refused tocompromise.This inAustralia yean ledtheAmeican to Ahundred later, theBritish colonis had expanded further dedare independence from [mpire to Briain in1776.Ihe Dedaration allofIndia, Australia and of cover Independence asserted universal large Historians ffrtsofAftica. principles govemment. callthis expansion oftheempire offree people after American independence the Many inBritain and 'Second political ltbecame whowanted British Empire Europe intheworld, withan reform wdcomed theideas ofthe thelaryest population estimated Dmlaration. ofover people. 400million Astheempire developed, many people Kingdom to lefttheUnited findnewopportunities overseas.

Many inSouth settled Africa, industry British ledtheworld in [anada, Australia, New Zealand the19th century. Inthelatel8th andtheUnited States. Between century therehadbeen rn aboom 1853 and1913, asmany as thebuilding ofcanals. These linked (itizens 1l millionBritish leftthe thefactories intherities tothe

The aristocracy stilldominated Parliament butthere wasa challenge from thegrowing

Actagain expanded thenumber commercial andentrepreneurialofvoters, stillonlyathirdofmen middle class inthenewly wealthy (and nowomen) were allowed

ports. Intheearly 19th century, indunrial towns The andcities. power George andRobert Stephenson ofthisnewmiddle class pioneered therailway engine and ledtotheReform Aoof1812. 1870 between and1914, around thebuilding oftherailways began. The riqht tovote wasstillbased 120,000 Russian andPolish There werealsogreat advances in onproperty butthenumber of Jews came toBritain toescape otherareas such asthebuildinq of people entitled t0votewasgreatly persecution athome. Many bridges likelsambard increased. byengineers The Actalso abolished country. There were also many migranb from toBritain various partsoftheworld. Forexample,

settled inLondon's East Endandin

Kingdom Brunel. Much ofthe

Manchester andLeeds.

heavy work ofcreating Britain's indu$rial infrastructure wasdone

qualifications oftheproperty to vote.Although the1867 Reform

tovote. These numbers were enough, howevet toforce the political parties leaders ofthe tocreate organisations torearh outtoordinary voten. This was

thebeglnning ofsomething politics. likedemocratic Even (theright many anrient ronstituencies so,universal suffrage withfewvoten more andgave ofeveryone tovote) tookmuch parliamentary seats t0thecities. longer. lt wasnotuntil1928 that

byimmigrant labourfrom lreland. This began apermanent shift people Many lrish migrated to ofpower away fromthelanded England toescape famine and interests ofthearistocracy tothe poverty andsettled asagricultural interests ofthecities. workers andlabouren. By1861 populatrons After were large there 1832, theworking classes

allmenandwomen hadtheright tovote. Therightofwomen tovote waswonafteralongcampaign by theWomen sSuffrage Movement (theSuffragettes) whohadto

resort tocivildisobedience to people property achieve oflrish incities such as goals. andotherpeople wjthout their Liverpool, London, Manchester began todemand theright to andGlasgow. vote. Theleaders ofthismovement were called theIhartists. Although thethartists failed, a generati0n latertheintense rivalry between the[onservative Party (led byBenjamin Disraeli)and (ledbyWilliam theLiberal Party Gladstone) resulted inthecreation more ofmany urban seats in Parliament lowering andafurther

I thelate19th century, the

fromtheempire them. To Atthebeginning todefeat ofthecentury imperialists thisshowed the there wasamood ofoptimism some

Party favoured the .cnservative Empire. unityoftheempire buttoothers :rpansion oftheBritish promoted theempire by it wasawarning thattheempire )rsraeli rakingOueen Victoria The Empress of would eventually collapse. rdiain18/6.The were to Liberals British Empire didfinallycome roreuncertain inthe about theempire anendasaresult ofevents bystories twentieth century. .,rdwereinfluenced of andthemistreatment of roverty :lepopulations ofthecolonies. - berals believed thattheempire radbecome over-large and ,'.ould collapse because ot soon They the(ontinuous rhrs. thought parlsoftheempire ,vars inmany frontier ;uchaslndia's northwe$ Africa, were futile. lr southern rhe[onservatives, bycontrast oelieved thatuadeandcommerce reeded military security andlaw andorder. They alsobelieved that from the thecolonies benefited nfluence oftheEritish. 'lB99to iheBoerWarof 1902 nadebothviewpoints more TheBritish entrenched. expanded rntoSouth Africa tocontrol the goldmines which oftheTransvaal, hadbeen bysettlen colonised from called the theNetherlands The resisted andit Boen. Boen manpower resources tookmassive

lreland hadbeen unified with in Great Britain bytheActofUnion '1B01.The government inBritain. l9thcentury hadbeen a Local was period inlrish history. reformed onamore democratic very difficult pensions basis. Retirement for Inthemiddle ofthe19th century, thepoor help for aophadfailed, and andfinancial thepotato provided lreland suffered This theunemployed were afamine. huge numbers andanew caused ofdeaths bythegovernment, politi(al party, Party, from disease andstartlation and theLabour people hadtoleave ireland. arose theinterests 0f many t0represent government inLondon theworking classes inParliamentThe people gorlernment. andlocal There was failed tohelp thelrish that ageneral belief inmodernity and adequately, causing bitterness progress. The lrish That belief was shatteredstillcontinues. nationalist grew mot'ement when warbroke out stronger during aterrible period. European nations.this Some, such asthe belween several Ihiswas War Fenians, favoured complete theFirstWorld -18). (1914 as Millions ofpeople independence. Others, such were killed Iharles Stuart Parnell, advocated orwounded. 0ne 'Home In19'13, Rule'(devolution). battle theBritish attack on alone, government finally in19,l6, resulted in theBritish theSomme 400,000 British Home Rule forlreland about casualties promised number andtheHome Rule Billstarted to andprobably thesame gothrough The Padiament, butthe ofGermans. whole ofthe Protestants in North British wasinvolved inthe the oflreland, Empire fighting: who were descendants ofthe forexample, over introduced 1million Indians fought inthe onbehalf settlen plantations, 17th-century ofthe allover theworld, UK Home Rule Around were Men threatened toresist 40,000 killed. ofarms. from theWest Indies, Africa, byforce Australia, New lealand and Because ofthe outbreak ofthe Canada also fought onbehalf of WaltheBritish FintWorld theBritish.

gOvernment p0stp0ned tne changes ithadpromtsed to lreland. ln1916, however, there (theEaster was anuprising Rising) against theBritish by lrish nationalists inDublin. Ihe leaders oftheuprising were executed military law.This under onlystrengthened thesupport fornationalism inlreland and ledtoaguenilla waragainst the

prepared Inthe1920s there were TheGermans toinvade improvements inpublic housing theUnited Kingdom butbefore andageneral rise inliving they needed could dothisthey standards buttheworldwide The tocontrol theair Brrtish 'Great fron1929 Depression' resisted theGerman airforce with

6ermans inWestern Europe in landings theD-Day of1944.After bitter fighting onthebearhes ofNormandy, theypressed on through France andintoGermany. With their Russian they allies

mass planes, created unemployment, theirfighter 5pitfires and andthe1930s were atimeof Hunicanes, andwonthecrucial brought about thetotaldefeat of economic depression andcrisis. aerial battle theGermans Germany against inthesummer of1945. called the'Battle ofBritainl Even British Prime inthe Ministen 1930s failed toundentand the

Thewaragainst wasended Japan whentheUnited States exploded

so,theGerman wasable airforce to(ontinue night-time bombing itsnewly developed atombombs

British army andthepolice. ln 1921apeace treaty wassigned

seriousness ofthethreat ofthe ofLondon andofother British German dictator andleader of cities su(hasCoventry, whichwas (hurchill party, andin1922lreland wasseparated theNazi AdolfHitler. The nearly totallydestroyed. intotwoparts. The sixcounties British triedtomake concessions encouraged anational spirit of

overthecities ofHiroshima and Nagasaki afewweeks later. Although ithadplayed an

intheNorth, whichweremainl, partofthe Protestant, remained

theUKwas exhausted economically. Liberation orselfgOvemmenl grew movements

inapolicy toHitler, known as resistance intheUnited Kingdom. 'appeasementi people Many inthe lntheFarEast, however, theBritish United Kingdom, whiletherestof UKblamed the(onservative Prime were inSingapore defeated by lreland became thelrishFree State Ministers ofthetimeforbeing too theJapanese, whowere allies andbecame arepublic in1949. complacent Hitler towards andhis ofGermany. IheJapanese then people inbothparts Some of expansionist ambitions andracist occupied Burma andthreaiened government lnd lreland were opposed ideology. tothis TheBritish ia. compromise andstillwished for realised it hadtogotowaragainst independence forthewhole of lreland. has This caused many years intheNorthThis ofconflict conflict, between those wishing forfulllrish independence and those wishing toremain loyal government, totheBritish is

Germany when Hitler invaded Poland in1939.Inthefirstyear

When theJapanese bombed the United States naval base atPearl ofwar;Hitler's armies succesfully Harbor, theUSA entered thewar. gradually invaded France qained Belgium, andthe Ihealliedforces Netherlands. Inthisnational crisis, theupper winning hand, victories (hurchill Winston became Prime inNorth Africa andltaly,whilethe Minister andBritain's warleader

sometimes called the'Troublesi haspeace returned 0nlyrecently

Germans lostmillions ofsoldiers asaresult oftheirattack onRussia in1942. Finally, theAllies were

lreland. toNorthern

strong enough toattack the

important roleinwinninq thewar,

stronger andmore in successful India andother colonies.

people lil 1945theBritish wasdefeated. The than it paid forinexports). Ihere elected In1951 Labour government, government too was ashortage oflabour aLabour despite haddemanded also Churchill's success andrestraint asthe and, fiomthe1940s aswarleader. much austerity onwards, The was newPrime Minister after thewarAfter governments encouraged the UKrecovered (onservative government 1951, governmentsarrivalin The immigrant Cement Attlee. theUKof established afreeNational Health made fewchanges tothenew workers from theformer colonies guaranteed Indian Service which a nationalised institutions and to in subcontinent andthe the {NHS) standard ofhealthcare thewelfare which hadbeen (aribbean. minimum state reduced introduced forall.Unemployment Ihecountry byLabour. rapidly. The railways, minfs, wasrununder was atimeofronflict coal a'mixed economyi This gas, water andelectricity supplies afree thegovernment market within aframework between and putunder public were ownenhip ofpublic Many ownership ofkeyutilities, thetrade unions. believed transport hadtoomuch andcommunications.thattheunions {nationalised). Afailed in1956 power invasion ofSuez andthattheyrestrained government The Party no Labour also believed showed thatBritain could and business. (onservative power inself-government forthe longer relyonmilitary andLabour Both former colonies andsogranted toprotect itsglobaleconomic governments fared many independence Pakistan, interests. toIndia, so,the1950s were large-scale strikes during the Even (eylon (now prosperity. 1970s in which SriLanka) and didmuch to aperiod ofincreasing 1947. Africa, 0ther colonies in the IhePrime Minister confidence intheBritish oftheday destroy ftribbean andthePacific achievedsummed thisupinaphrase that eronomy. ltwas atthistime, independence over {henext isstillquoted:'You've never hadil too,thatthetensions between inNorthern sogoodl the{*mmunities 20years. lreland intoviolen€e flared government provided The The Labour Labour Party returned to whirhledtothecontroversial there fortheUK's defence bydevelopingpower from1964to1970and ofthearmy deployment itsownatomic bomb andjoining then from1974 to1979, but and thesuspension, in1972, again lreland many economicoftheoriginal Northern thenewNorth Atlanti(Treaty theUKnowfaced (NAT0), problems Parliament. Some of 0rganisation surh inflation, 3,000lives analliance as personnel the andsecurity ofnations setuptoresist unstable internaiional cunency civilians perceived lostinthedecades after 1969. threai rates ofinvasion bythe exchange andthe'balance were (importing more Soviet and itsallies. ofpayments' Union

(onservatives invasion West notconvinced The wonthegeneral The byArgentina ofthe Meanwhile, Germany, thattheUKwas in Falkland lslands in1982 was ltaly, committed totheaims oftheEE( election in1979 France, Belgium, andremained led haddeveloped without office until1997. Under Margaret unforeseen, butmilitary action Luxembourg andtheNetherlandsasthese involvement Prime from totherecovery oftheislands. The had formed theEuropean British DeGaulle aho Thatcher, Minister '1979 (EE(). her thegovernmentwarandherwayofdefending Economic Community The believed thattheUKtinfluence until1990, returned sense oftheUK's interests inthe EEC hadthegoalofharmonisingwould betoogreat, andthatits totheprinciples ofa political, established Mn and trade closeness totheUnited States, strict control ofthemoney supply Eurooean Union economic The Thatche/s itsmembers both culturally market economy. credentials asanati0nal relations between andeconomically, andafree (0mm0n privatised withmany voters, and crealng a would undermine those aims. Conservatives themain leader although policy. planned a agricultural ltalso nationalised industries andpublic formany others sheremained gas, fiaure. free theConservative Prime services: water, divisive tomake theborden between In1972. electricity, itsmember AEuropean Minister Heath negotiatedtelephones lhe states. Edward andtherailways. power Parliament was established theUK's intotheEEC. The ofthetrade unions was in entry greatly was stilldivided onthe reducd Strasbourg andacivilservice, country bynewlegislation called theEuropan [ommission,issue andthisledthe reslricting tostrike. ofjoining, theright government people gave inBrusels. tohold The AtfrnttheUKdidnot next Labour Conservatives inwhich wnolrveo InmunKrpal nousrng wish tojointheEEC Many Eritish areferendum in1975, politicians voted its {council believed thatthelinks themajority tocontinue houses} therighttobuy many theirhomes. This ledtoamuch between theUKandtheU5A and membership. Since then, were important more have lower housing theempire more European countries stock ofpublic including many countries bythe1990s. MnThatcher's and that the(ommonwealth joined, policies inEastern controlled could form aneconomic bloc Europe. In1992, the economic poliry Treaty renamed the inflation based onsterling, butthis ofMaastricht butsome believed thev institutions, wrongly assumed that the EEC anditsrelaed the also caused amassive decline (EU). inindustry. howevet countries ofthe[ommonwealth European Union 0thers, (see wished chapter 4) say thiswas caused byforeign tobetiedtotheUK economically. When theBritish comOetition. Atthistimethere great governmenr in it was a diddecide that also incease (ityofLondon wanted therole ofthe tojoin,i6appli(ations for asaninternational centre were vetoed twicefirstin1963 insurance in1967. The French tnvestmentt andothel andagain (harles President, deGaulle, was financial services.

- ' 19lthe(onservatives governmefit were Asembly fewer legislative Todayt has faces several society foralong timgwithout problems powers :i::?ninthegeneral election by butconsiderable control issues. Some ofthe thisbeing athreatto itsBritish '- i -abour public global Party, nowbranded over In Northern international, its services. are such as identity, or English, Scottish, government Labour toemphasise the lreland was warming, Welsh national theBlair tenorism, andthe orlrhhculturaland "i,,, -: ^qes (onservatives' it hadundergone since its able tobuild onthe violence debates inInq.0ther are identities. ,.,'sofpower innEotiating inthe1970s. New success anendto domestic such asdisagreements pensions, led -,::ur, byTony Blair, wished the'Troubles'which hadafflicted over taxation, law 'l%9 '. :'eak from theoldLabour iheprovince since and, andordet health, education, ofpublicownenhip and inco-operation withthelrish immigration :, iies and asylum. - l^ taxation political,. forpublic services. government, toseek ' ::dnotre-nationalise am0ng thenationalist,The any of agreement United Kingdom isperhaps ": services parties. which unionist orindustries andother more socially mobile andless -:i been privaised bythe ihit however, hasproved more clasconscious thanitwasinthe past. --nservatives. were for have hsgoals to elusive, andanangements People better heahh - rkeexisting public generations services in1998, have thaninprevious such devolution, agreed and health more :: education and Although there been intenupted andarecunently tend tolivelonger. .'ficient andmore accountable. susoended. isstillgreat inequality between people -aboul like the(onservativet thevery richandpoor, are 'avoured partnerships generally between wealthier inreal terms. public private pluralistic :.e and sectors. The UKisalso amore -he years were nolonger arguments society thanitwas100 agq public ,vhether utilities should bothinethnic andreligious terms. be privately orpublicly owned, but Post-war immigration means that population about therightmixofpublic nearly 10% and ofthe private enterprise. has aparent orgrandparent born outside theUK. Racism government The with remains insome Blair broke aproblem areas, policy itisactively [onservative byintroducing although combated Parliamentand aScottish aWelsh bothinopinion andinlawand people thatit has Assembly chapter 4). The most believe {see has The UKhasbeen a Scottish Parliament substantial diminished. powen The Welsh multi-national andmuhi-cuhural tolEislate.

ChAPtCr2: A CHANGING SOCIETY Migration toBritain

- :hrschapter thereisinformation about Migration to Britain

Children, family andyoung people

Thelonghistory ofimmigration totheUnited Kingdom

people Many livinginBritain today have theirorigins inothercountries. They cantrace theirroots toregions throughout theworldsuch asEurope, past, theMiddle East, Africa, Asia lnthedistant andthe[aribbean. (see invaders toBritain, landandstayed, 1).More came seized chapter jobsandabetter people recently, come toBritain tofindsafety, life.

= Iheidentity, interests, tastes patterns andlifestyle of people children andyoung

reasons whypeople Different migrated totheUK

=tEducation andwork inimmigration Basic changes patlerns hazards: cigarettes, over thelast30years .='Health alcohol andillegal drugs

Britain isproud ofitstradition ofoffering safety topeople whoare 'lBth perse(ution escaping For example, inthe16th andhardship. and (French centuries, Huguenots Protestants) came toBritarn toescape -1840s penecution religious inFrance. lnthemid there was atenible famine inlreland lrishpeople migrated Many lrish andmany t0Britain. men labourers became andhelped tobuild canals andrailways acros Britain.

Ihechanging roleofwomen n Young people's political and thanges tofamily structures

socral attitudes

people From 1880 to1910, number alarge ofJewish came toBritain (called'pogrom() t0escape racitattacks inwhat was the then called

rights andwomen's since the 19thcentury

Belarus.

Women! campaigns forrights,

Migration since 1945

Rusian Empire andfromthecountries nowcalled Poland, Ukraine and

including theright tovote, centuries

After World theSecond War(1939-45), there wasahuge task of people rebuilding Iherewerenotenough Britain. t0dothework,sothe government worken fromlreland British encouraged andotherparts0f

against women Discrimination intheworkplace andin

people Europe In1948, tocome t0theUKt0helpwiththereconstruction. from Indies invited theWest were also tocome andwork.

inthelate19thandearly 20th

education Changing attitudes towomen working, andresponsibilities of men andwomen inthehome

intheUK. TheUK During the1950s, there wasstillashortage oflabour immigration inthe1950s foreconomic reasons andmany encouraged Forexample, industries advertised forworkers fromoverseas. centres people weresetupintheWest Indies torecruit todrivebuses. Iextileand sent engineering frrms fromthenorthofEngland andtheMidlands

aqents t0India andPakistan tofindworkers. Forabout 25yean,people fromtheWest Indies, India, Pakistan, andlaterBanqladesh, travelled to work andsettle inBritain. Thenumber ofpeople migrating fromthese areas fellinthelate1960s pased 70sbecause andearly theGovernment newlaws torestrict

During thistime,howevet theUKwasabletohelpalarge number of refugees. In1972theUKaaepted thousands ofpeople ofIndian origin programme whohadbeen forced Another toleave Uganda. tohelp '1970s. people fromVietnam wasintroduced inthelate Since 19/9,more than25,000 refugees fromSouth East Asiahave been allowed tosettle in theUK.

immrgration t0Britain, immigrants frombld'[ommonwealth althouqh (ountries such asAustralia, Newlealand and[anada groups didnothave toface Inthe1980s immigrant thelargest werefromtheUnited States, such strict controls. groups Australia, South Africa, andNewZealand. Intheearly1990s, of people fromtheformer Soviet Union came toBritain looking foranew andsafer wayoflife.Since 1994 there hasbeen aglobal rise inmass politicaland migration forboth economic reasons.

Thechanging roleofwomen

Women inBritain today

poorer r lgth-century Britain, families were usually large andinmany romes men, women andchildren towards thefamily allcontributed rcome. Although theymade animportant economic contribution, ,,,'omen inBritain hadfewer rights thanmen. Until1857, amanied ,voman hadnoright todivorce herhusband. 1882, when awoman Until qotmanied, property herearnings, automatically belonged to andm0ney her husband. Inthelate19th andearly 20thcenturies, anincreasing number ofwomen rights campaigned anddemonstrated forgreater and, inparticular, protests therightt0vote. Iheybecame known as'Suffragettesi lhese joined during theFirstWorld War because women inthewar decreased greater variety effort andtherefore didamuch ofwork thantheyhad World in191 before. When theFirst War ended 8,women over theage given of30were finally theright tovote andtostand forelection to Parliament. ltwasnotuntil1928 wontheriqht tovote at21, thatw0men attrlesame age asmen. inthe Despite these improvements, women stillfaced discrimination quite workplace. For itwas common foremployers toask example, jobswhen jobswere women their theygotmanied. Many closed toleave forwomen t0enter univeruities. During the t0women anditwasdifficult pressure 1960s there wasincreasing fromwomen forequal and1970s passed giving pay rights. Parliament newlaws women therighttoequal fromdiscriminating women employers against because of andprohibiting (see their sex also chapter 6).

Women inBritain make today up5170 ofthepopulation and4570 girlsleave These oftheworkforce. days school, onaverage, with qualifications better thanboys andthere arenowmore women thanmen atunive6ity. greater Employment f0rwomen opportunities aren0wmuch than theywereinthepast. Although women continue tobeemployed in traditional female areas such ashealthcare, teaching, and secretarial retailwork,there isstrong evidence thatattitudes arechanging, and wOmen arenowactive inamuch widerrange ofworkthanbefore. Research shows thatveryfewpeople today believe in thatwomen Britain should Ioday, stayathome andnotg0outtowork. almost three-quarters ofwomen withschoo l-agechildren areinpaid WOTK.

Inmost households, women tohave themain continue responsibility forchildcare There isevidence andhousework. inhomes thatthereisnowgreater equality andthatmore men aretaking some responsibility forraising thefamily anddoing people housework. many Despite thispr0gress, believe thatmore greater needs tobedone toachieve equality forwomen. There are particularly stillexamples women, inthe ofdiscrimination against workplace, it.Women despite thelawsthatexisttoprevent stilldo jobs. notalways have thesame t0promotion andbetter-paid access payrateforwomen Theaverage is2070 lesthanformen, hourly mostwomen stillearnless andafterleaving univerity thanmen.

Children, family people andyoung

IntheUK,there arealmost 15million people children andyoung uptothe age of19.This isalmost one-quarter ofthe UKpopulation. Over thelast20years, familypatterns inBritain have been transformed because ofchanging attitudes towards divorce andseparation. Today, 65%ofchildren live parents, withboth birth almost 25%liveinloneparent families, and1070 livewithinastepfamily. Mostchildren inBritain pocket receive weekly money parents from their getextra andmany jobs money fordoing around thehouse. [hildren intheUKdonotplayoutside thehome asmuch astheydidin past. the Partofthereason forthisisincreased home entertainment such astelevision, videos andcomputers. There isalso increased concern for children ssafety andthere aremany stories innewspapers about child molestation bystrangers, butthereisnoevidence thatthiskindofdanger isincreasing. people Young have different identities, interests andfashions toolder people. young people Many move away fromtheirfamilyhome when theybecome adults butthisvaries fromonecommunity t0another. Education Thelawstates thatchildren between theages of5and16 mustattend school. Thetests thatpupils takeareveryimportant, andinEngland and Scotland children takenational testsinEnglish, mathematics andscience when they are7,11and 14yean old.(lnWales, teachers assess children's progress whentheyare7and11andtheytakeanational testattheage of14).Thetests giveimportant information progress about children's and achievement, thesubjects theyaredolng wellinandtheareas where they need extra help.

Wo* jobwhile people people young Education Itiscommon foryoung Most take theGeneral Certificate ofSecondary tohave apart-time theyare (SQA) (G(5E), Authority Standard stillatschool. ltisthought children atwork or,in5cotland,Scottish there are2million atany Qualifications jobs in when theyare16.At17and18,many take onetime.lhe most common arenewspaper delivery andwork Grade examinations (ertificates qualifications, parents part+ime work vocational General ofEducation atanAdvancedsupermarkets andnewsagents. Many believe that (AGGs), Higher in helps tobecome more independent aswdlasproviding them level A5level unirorHigher/Advanced Grada children good willexpect GCSE orSQA Standard (and sometimes theirfamilies) withextra inc0me. Scotland. Schools andcolleges resuls before allowing astudent toenrol onanAGCE orScottish Grade work Higher course. There arelaws about theagewhen children cantake uppaid Higher/Advanced (usually notbefore 14), theycandoandthenumber of thetype0fwork qualifications gained formore Subsidiary bycompleting houn theycanwork(see wwwworksmart.org.uk information). A5levels areAdvanced ASunits asone-halfofan AGCE. three A5units.lhree areconsidered partofthecourse, fortheHfety more A5units canbestudied to Itisvery important t0note thatthere areconcerns of Inthesecond three properly qualification. who work illegally who not supervised children or are andthe complete theAQCE pages employment ofchildren isstrictly controlled bylaw(see also 84 people referto AGffs ofAlevels. AGCEs arethe and 85). Many bythe oldname forentry courses, butmany higher route tohigher education traditional qualifications. Health hazards students enter withdifferent kinds of education people parents young Many wony may misuse drugs nowgoontohigher eduotion atcollEe or thattheirchildren andaddictive One inthree young people entrance forayear substances. 50me defer theirunivenity univerity. yeallhisyear voluntary often includes andtake a'gap outofeducation pmple young Smoking: work toeam andsave work andtravel overseas. Some ' money t0pay fortheir university fees andliving expenses. @ population, isslowly falling intheadult more Although cigarette smoking young people andmore school agegirlssmoke thanboys. 16years may choose tostudy atColleges of aresmoking, People over ofage also products it isillegal under lhere isawiderange of From 10ctober 2007 toselltobacco toanyone orAdult Education Centres. Further Education inpublic 18years isgenerally notallowed buildings and aswellascourss which old.Smoking andvocational courses available academic (ontact places your local college fordetails. work throughout theUK. leisure interests andskills. develop

Alcohol: people Younq under theageof'18 arenotallowed tobuyalcohol in people young Britain, butthere isconcern about theagesome start drinking alcohol andtheamount ofalcohol theydrink atonetime, known public lt isillegal as'binge drinkingi tobedrunk in andthere arenow penalties more tohelp including control thisproblem, onthe-spot fines. lllegal drugs: Asinmost countries, itisillegal toposess drugs such asheroin, cocaine, (urrent ecstasy, amphetamines andcannabis. statistics show thathalf ofallyoung adults, andabout athirdofthepopulation have asawhole, used illegal drugs atone time 0ranother. (e.9. Ihere linkbetween isastrong theuse 0fhard drugs crack cocaine andheroin) andcrime, andalso hard andmental illness.Ihe drugs misuse has ofdrugs ahuge social andfinancial forthecountry. This cost isa serious isueandBritish needs society tofindaneffective wayofdealing with theproblem.

political peopleS Young andsocial aftitudes

Ched thatpu undershnd andvocabulary thekeyterms forthischapter

people Young inBritain inelections from theageof18.Inthe Migration canvote toBritain: general 2001 election, however, voters their only1in5firsttime used I migrate, vote. hasbeen Ihere agreat debate over thereasons forthis.Some immigrate, people researchers think thatonereason isthatyoung arenotinterested immigration, immigrant I persecution, proces. inthepolitical famine, confl ict tlabour, labourer young people politics, Although most inparty show littleinterest there is t recruit political strong evidence thatmany areinterested inspecific issues such as I restrict r political theenvironment and cruelty toanimals. asylum I thewareffoft people In2003 asurvey ofyoung inEngland andWales showed thatthey believe thefivemost important issues inBritain were crime, drugtwar/ ftanging roleofwomen: young people racism The renorism, same survey asked about 9ndhealth. political participation They found in andcommunity events. that86 t income, rheir earnings people partinsome %ofyoung hadtaken formofcommunity event over r rights,equal righr partinfund-raising year, rhepast and50%hadtaken orcollecting money I campaign, 4emonstrate I discriminate, forcharity. Similar results have been found insurveys inScotland and discrimination f'lorthern o get prohibit lreland. Many children first involved inthese while activities (itizenship (uniculum. t workforce where atschool theystudy aspartoftheNational . household a promotion family Children, andyoung people: I eligible I concern o molestation I anitudes I hazards

a birth parent, stepfamily i compulsory * informal * methodsofassessment I defer t gapyear t independent a income I misuse ] addictive substances i abuse I bingedrinking f on-the-spotfines r controlled drugs I criminaloffence I possess I heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, cannabis r burglary, mugginq r debate t politicians, political process, paqpolitics, political isues I specific I concern t environment I tenorism, racism a participation | fund-raising

ftAPtCr3: UKTODAY: A PROFILE Population

Inthischapter there isinformationIn2005thepopulation oftheUnited Kingdom wasjustunder 60million ADOUT:

oeoole.

= Ihepopulation ofthe UK

UKpopulation 2005

€ lhecensus

population) England (8470 ofthe

50.lmillion

+ Ethnicdive6ity

population) Scotland (8%ofthe

5.1million

€ Theregions ofBritain

Wales

(5%ofthepopulation)

* Religion population) andreligious freedom N.lreland (3% ofthe € Customs andtraditions

IoUIUK

2.9million 1.7million 59.8million

source: National Statistics

population grown growth The has 1971, and hasbeen by7./%since population years. fa$erinmore recent intheUKhas Although thegeneral increased inthelast20years, insome areas such astheNorth-East and North-West ofEngland there hasbeen adecline. Boththebirthrateandthedeath ratearefalling andasaresult theUK population. people nowhasanageing Forinstance, there aremore over under 16.There isalsoarecord number ofpeople aged 60thanchildren 85andover. Thecensus isacount lt alsocollects statistics 0n Acensus ofthewholepopulation. place housing, health, ethnicity, topics such asage, ofbirth,occupation, andmaritalstatus.

UKpopulation 2001 Million

Acensus hasbeen 1801,except taken every tenyears since during the World War The next willtake second census olace in20'l 1.

During acensus, aformisdelivered toevery household inthecountry. This formaskfordetailed information about each member ofthe

White (including people of European, Australian, American descent)

household andmustbecompleted information bylaw.Ihe remains confidential andanonymous; itcan only bereleased tothepublic after

Mixed

UKpopulation 7o

54.2

92

0.7

1.2

people 100years, whenmany researching theirfamilyhistory findit very population General census information isused toidentifl useful. trends Asian orAsian British planning. More andtohelp information about thecensus, thecensus form andstatistics fromprevious censuses canbefound at Indian www.statistics.gov. uk/census

1.1

'l.B

Pakistani

0.7

1.3

Bangladeshi

0.3

0.5

0.2

0.4

0.6

1.0

i'.0.5

0.8

Ethnic diversity TheUKpopulation isethnically diverse andischanging rapidly, especially inlarge cities such asLondon, s0it isnotalways easy t0getanexait 0ther Asian picture population oftheethnic origin ofallthe fromcensus $atistics. Each ofthefourcountries 0ftheUK(England, Wales, Scotland and Black orBlack British lreland) Northern has different customs, attitudes andhistories Black [aribbean People Pakistani, ofIndian, Chinese, Black [aribbean, Black African, Bangladeshi andmixed ethnic descent make up8.370 ofthe UK population.Today about halfthememben ofthese communities were

Black African

born intheUnited Kingdom.

Black other

0.'l

0.2

Ihere arealso considerable numbers ofoeoole resident intheUKwhoare Chinese (anadian, oflrish, lulian, Greek and Turkish Polish, Cypriot, Australian,

0.2

0.4

New Zealand andAmerican Larqe numbers descent. have also arrived 0ther since 2004 from thenewEast member European states oftheEuropean

0.2

0.4

groups Union. Ihese arenotidentified separately inthecensus statistics in thefollowinq table.

Source: Narional srarhtics from rhe2001 census

Thenations andregions oftheUK

groups lVhere dothelargest ethnic minodg live? -re figures from the2001 census show thatmost members ofthelarge groups i:tnicminority intheU|(liveinEngland, where theymake up population.45% people ?r ofthetotal ofallethnic minofity livein :'e London area, where theyformnearly one-third ofthepopulation populations -"1fr). Other areas ofEngland withlarge minority ethnic Midlands, :'etheWest theSouth Ea$theNorth West, andYorkshire and --mberside.

The UKisamedium+ized country.The longest distance onthemainland, fiomJohn 0'Groats onthenorth of5cotland inthe coast t0Land's End (approximately south-west corner ofEngland, isabout 870miles 1,400 population kilometres). Most live in towns and cities, ofthe

parts There aremany variations inculture inthedifferent andlanguage oftheUnited Kingdom.This isseen indifferences inarchitecture, insome local in customttypes offood, andespecially inlanguage. The English i:portionofethnic groups minority inthecountries oftheUK language hasmany These indication accents anddialects. areaclear ofregional intheUK. differencs Well*nown dialects inEngland are l'oland 9% Wales (Iyneside),Scouse (Liverpool) (London). Geordie andCockney Many languages inaddition other toEnglish arespoken intheUK, in especially iiotland 2oh Northem lreland lesthan 1% rnuhicuhural cities. people InWales, Scotland andNorthern lreland, speak different varieties anddialects ofEnglish. InWales, toqanincreasing number ofpeople speakWelsh, which istaught inschools InScotland andunirlersities. parts Gaelic isspoken insome oftheHighlands andlslands andin Northem lreland lrish afewpeople speak Gaelic. Some ofthedialem ofEnglish spoken inScotland show theinfluence oftheoldScottish languagg Scots.One inNorthern lreland ofthedialects spoken iscalled Ulster Scots.

Religion

everyone has thelegal Although theUKishistorically aChristian society, just choice. Inthe2001 census,over right topractise thereligion oftheir There 75% they had religion: 7 out of 10 ofthese were Christians. said a religions. were number ofpeople whofollowed other also aconsiderable people religious cunently Although many intheUKsaid theyheld belieft, people religious More onlyaround 10% ofthepopulation anend services. in in Scotland and Northern lreland than England and attend services InLondon ofpeople whoattend religious services is Wales. thenumber increasino. Religions intheUK (10% Catholic) ftristian ofwhom areRoman

71.6 2.7

Muslim

1.0 0.6

sikh Jewish Buddhist

b

0.3

0ther

0.3

ToulAll

t7

Noreligion Notstated ftomthe2001 census Source: National Statistics

15.5 7.3

(hurches (hristian The

Patron saints'days

isa(0nstituti0nal linkbetween The ingland there church andstate. rcralchurch ofthestate isthe[hurchofEngland.Ihe thurchofEngland St.David's Wales day,

lMarch

[hurchinothercountries andtheEprscopal [hurch .a edtheAnglican isaProtestant lreland l7 March -.rotland andintheUSA. The[hurchofEngland church 5t.Patrick sday,Northern (see , : has inthe1530s chapter 1for existed since theReformation ': anatron) (the queen isthehead, The 23April monarch) orSupreme 5t.Georges king or day,England ,ernoI ofthe [hurch ofEngland. The monarch isnotallowed to ''ryanyone whoisnotProtestant. Thespiritual leader ofthethurchof 5t.Andrew's day,Scotland i0 November nterbury. Themonarch hastherightto I andistheArchbishop ofCa , i.t theArchbishop holidays andother senior church officials, butusually the There Holidayland fourotherpublic ayear(most arefour'Bank people bythePrime Minister andarommittee appornted bythe holidays Bank Holidays). r ceismade call allthese - rrchSeveral (see [hurchofEngland sitintheHouse ofLords bishops ,rter4).TheIhurchofScotland isPresbyterian, nati0nal andfreefrom ',:t control. purposes lthas nobishops forspiritual andisgoverned , : series ofcourts, s0itsmost senior representative istheModerator ' :rrperson) Assembly. There isnoestablished ofitsannual General ,,rhinWales lreland. orinNorthern ' :r Protestant gr0ups intheUKareBaptists, Presbyterians, Chnstian .:rodists 1070 andQuaken. ofChristians areRoman [atholic : , lnNorthern lreland). )atron saints : and,Scotland, Wales lreland have anational saint andNorthern each -.1apatron has were saint Each saint afeast dayInthepa$these people when many hadadayoffwork. Today i:rfated asholy days ' .:: arenotpublic l/ March inNorthern lreland. holidays exceptfor

(ustoms andtraditions

Festivals Throughout theyearthere arefestirlals 0fart,music andculture, such astheNotting Hill[arnival inwestLondon andtheEdinburgh Festival.

other cards people anddecorate their houses. Many decorate atree. [hristmas isaspecial young timeforchildren Very children believe that (orSanta anoldman, Father presents [hristmas Caus), brings them

Customs andtraditions from various reliqions, such asEidul-Fitr (Muslim), (Hindu) (Jewish)are Diwali andHanukkah widely recognised in during thenight.Heisalways shown inpictures withalongwhitebeard, theUK.thildren learn about these atschool. ThemainChristian festivals dressed inred.Boxing Day, 26December, isthedayafterChristmas. lt rsa areIhristmas andEaster.There arealso celebrations ofnon-religious public hollday traditions such asNewYear Other festivals andtraditions NewYear 1lanuary, isapublic holiday. People usually celebrate 0nrhenight0f 31December. InScotland, 3l December iscalled Hogmanay and 2January isalsoapublic holiday. InScotland Hogmanay isabrgger people holiday forsome than Christmas. Valentine's Day 14February, iswhenlovers exchange people cards andgiftsSometimes send anonymous cards tosomeone they secretly admire. April Fool's Day Themain Christian festivals Ihristmas Day

1April,isadaywhenpeople playlokes oneach otherunrilmidday. 0ften TVandnewspapen carry stories intended todeceive credulous viewers andreaders.

25December, celebrates thebirthoflesus Christ. Irtsapublic holiday. Many gotochurch [hristians onChristmas Eve(24December) oron

Mother's Day

Christmas Dayitself. [hristmas isalsousually celebrated bypeople who arenotChristian. People usually spend thedayathome andeataspecial TheSunday three weeks before Easter isadaywhenchildren send cards meal, whichoftenincludes giveeach turkey. They othergifts,send each orbuygiftsfortheirmothers. Easter isalsoanimportant Christran festival.

Sport -,llowe en '

people festival. 0ctober, isavery ancient Younq willoften dress up 'frrqhtening costumes toplay'trick 0rtreati Giving them sweets 0r playing rocolates you people might stop them atri(k0n Sometimes made :rrylanterns outofpumpkins withacandle inside.

plays partinrnany peoples 5portofallkinds aimportant lives. Football, tennis, ruqby andcricket areverypopular intheUK. sports There areno United Kingdom teams forfootball andrugby. England, Scotland, Waies andNorthern lreland have theirOwn teamslmportant sporting events (FA) include, theGrand National horse race, theFootball Association cup final(andequivalents inNorthern lreland, Scotland andWales), the0pen golf championshrp and theWimbledon tennis tournament

.ryFawkes Night 'lovember, isanoccasion whenpeopie inGreat Britain setofffrreworks it h0me 0rinspecial displays Theoriqin ofthiscelebration wasanevent ^ 1605, whenagroup of[atholics ledbyGuyFawkes failedintheirplan , kiI thePr0testant king withabomb intheHouses ofParliament.

lemembrance Day I November, r0mmemorates whodiedfighting Warl, those inWorld (aredflower) people \rordWar2andotherwan.Many wearpoppies in nemory ofthose whodied. Atll am.there isatwo-minute silence.

ChAPICI4: THEUNITED HOW KINGDOM I5GOVERNED TheBritish Constitution

Inthischapter thereisrnformation Asaconstitutional theUnited Kingdom rsgoverned bya democracy, widerange ofinstitutions, many ofwhichprovide checks oneach other's

about:

Government Ihesystem ofgovernment Ihemonarchy Iheelectoral system

powen. the Mostofthese institutions areoflongstanding: theyinclude (c0nsisting monarchy, Parliament, andthe oftheHouse of[ommons House ofLords), theoffceofPrime Minister; theCabinet, thejudlciary, government. thepolice, thecivrl service, andtheinstitutions oflocal More recently, devolved have been setupforScotland, administrations Wales lreland. Toqethe; these formal institutions, lawsand andNorthern people wouldargue conventions formtheBritish [0nstitution. Some that pressure theroles less formal institutions, such as the media and ofother (onstitution. groups, should also beseen aspartofthe

parties Political TheBritish [Onstitution isnotwrittendowninanysingle document, Being acitizen

othercountries. Thisismainly because asaretheconstitutions ofmany likeAmerica theUnited Kingdom hasnever hadalasting revolution, or

Voting

France, institutions have beenrnexistence for so0urmostimportant people thatthere should beasrngle hundreds ofyean. Some believe more constitution allows document, butothers believe thatanunwritten publrc for to meet changing circumstances and scope institutions toadapt

(ontacting your MP

TheUKinEurope andtheworld expecIaIr0ns. The European Union

Themonarchy

The [ommonwealth

ll istheHead oftheUnited Kingdom. Sheisalso Elizabeth ofState Queen inthe[ommonwealth. themonarch orHead ofState formany countries hasa TheUK,likeDenmark, theNetherlands, Norway, Spain andSweden, queen notrule monarchy. Ihismeans thatthekingor does constitutional

The United Nations

whichthepeople have chosen thegovernment thecountry, butappoints warnand indemocratic Although thequeen orkingcanadvise, elections. policies are MinisteI thedecisi0ns 0ngOvernment enc0urage thePrime made Minister andCabinet. bythePrime

oftheHouse of[ommons. Ihememben oftheHouse of(ommons are called'Memben ofParliament'or MPs forshort. Each MPreDresents a parliamentary constituency, orarea ofthecountry: there are646ofthese. The has important ceremonial roles such astheopening ofthe MPs have anumber ofdifferent responsibilities. They represent Queen everyone year.0n newparliamentary session each thisoccasion theQueen makes a intheir constituency, theyhelp tocreate newlaws, theyscrutinise and policies speech thatsummarises thegovernment's fortheyear ahead. c0mment 0nwhat isdoing, theq0vernment andtheydebate important national issues. lheQueen hasreigned since herfather's deahin1952.Prince [harles, the Prince ofWales, heroldest istheheir son, tothethrone.

Government

Elections Ihesystem ofgovernment intheUnited Kingdom isaparliamentary democracy.Ihe UKisdivided into646parliamentary constituencies and

There must beageneral election toelect MPs fiveyears, atleast every fiveyears atleast every voters ineach constituency electtheirMember though theymay beheld sooner ifthePrime Minister sodecides. lfan (MP)inageneral ofParliament election. Alloftheelected MPs formthe MPdies orresigns, willbeanother there election, called in aby-election, partyandtheparty House of[ommons. MostMPs belong toapolitical past hisorherconstituency. MPs areelected through asystem called'first government. withthelarqest number ofMPs forms the Ineach theposti constituency, thecandidate whogerthemost votes government iselected.Ihe party isthenformed bythe which wins the Ihelawthatrequires newelections toParliament tobeheldatleast every majority ofconstituencies. fveyears issofundamental thatnogovernment hassought t0change it. ABilltochange it istheonlyonetowhichtheHouse ofLords mustgive itsconsent.

The Whips

group The Whips areasmall ofMPs appointed bytheirparty leaden. Ihey people Some argue thatthepower ofParliament islessened because of areresponsible fordiscipline intheirparty andmaking sure MPs attend theobligation 0ntheUnited Kingdom toaccept therules oftheEuropean theHouse of(ommons t0vote.The ChlefWhip often attends [abinet or (abinet judgments Union andthe oftheEuropean Court, butit wasParliament 5hadow meetings andarranges theschedule ofproceedings in itself which created these obligations. theHouse ofCommons withtheSoeaker. TheHouse ofCommons

parliamentary European elections

Elections fortheEuropean Parliament arealso held every fiveyears. Ihere Parliament, anditsmembers aredemocratically elected. Nowadays the are78seats forrepresentatives from theUKintheEuropean Parliament Prime Minister andalmost allthememben oftheGbinetaremembers and elected members are called Members oftheEurooean

TheHouse of[ommons isthemore important ofthetwochambers in

ThePrime Minister (MEPs). :' ament Electionst0the Eur0pean Parliament useasystem 0f p0rti0naJ partyin representati0n, whereby seats areailocated toeach portion votes itwon. tothetotal

(PM)istheeader partyinpower. ThePrime lt/inister ofthepolitical He orsheappoints themembers ofthe[abinet andhascontrol overmany public important Theofficial home Minister is appointments. ofthePrime 10Downing Street, incentral London, nearthe Houses he ofParliament,

The House ofLords 'rbersofthe House ofLords, known aspeers, arenotelected anddo represent The roie |-|ouse of aconstituency. andmembership ofthe peers 1958 were rshave recently undergone bigchanqes. Until all ' er'hereditaryi judges, meaning thattheirtitles were inherited, senior

orshealsohasacountry house notfarfromLondon caledChequers. The partydecide Prime iftheMPs intheqoverning Minister canbechanged More todoso,orif heorshewishes toresign. usually, thePrime Minister resigns when hisorherparty isdefeated inageneral election.

:rshops Since 1958 thePrime Minister has ofthe[hurchofEngland. peers, peenjustfortheirownlifetime. These , : thepower toappoint ,'inasLife Peen, have hadadistinguished career inpolitics, usually profession. in law0rsome other Ihrsmeans thatdebates , ness, is often draw onmore specialist knowledge than - llouse ofLords LrfePeers areappointed , abetomembers oftheHouse of[ommons. , :neQueen Minister; butthey include 0ntheadvice ofthePrime parties main andbyan r enominated bytheleaden oftheother peers, ::pendent fornon-party Appointments [ommission -e astfewyears peers right thehereditary have lostthe automatic ofLords, although theyareallowed toelectafewof ,.:endtheHouse ' rLnDer torepresent tnem.

The(abinet ThePrime Minister about 20senror MPs tobecome ministers appoints incharge These include theChancellor ofdepartments oftheExchequer,

- etheHouse isusuallythe less important ofthetwo ofLords ,rbers lt can , it ism0re independent ofthegovernment. ofParliament, lJestamendments 0rpropose newlaws, whicharethendiscussed by very important House ofLords canbecome , 'louse of[ommons.The --emalority willnotagree topass alawforwhichthe ofitsmembers

responsible forthee(onomy, theHome Secretary, responsible for aw, (called order andimmrgration, theForeign 5ecretary, andministers 'Secretaries health IheLord ofState') foreducation, anddefence. responsible forlegal isalso a Ihancellor; whoistheminister affairs,

powers has to .seof[ommons has voted. The House of[ommons ,'rule arevery rarely used. theHouse ofLords, butthese

ntheHouse ofLords ratherthan the memberof theCabinet butsat passed legislation in 2005, it is now |-|ouse ofCommons. Following

(hancellor possible fortheLord ministers t0sitintheCommons. Jhese formthe[abinet, whichusually meets weekly asmallcommittee and government policy makes important decisions about whichoftenthen have tobedebated orapproved byParliament. The0pposition party The largest intheHouse second ofCommons iscalled the 0pposition. The Leader 0ppositi0n istheperson whohopes ofthe to Prime Minister if hisorherpartywinsthenextgeneral become election. TheLeader leads hisorherpartyinpointing ofthe0pposition outthe government's failures andweaknesses; 0nermportant 0pp0rtunity to place dothisisatPrime Ministers whichtakes every week Questions whileParliament issitting. TheLeader ofthe0pposltion alsoappoints senior 0pposrtion MPs ministers, toleadthecriti(ism ofgovernment and together theyform theShadow [abinet. TheSpeaker Debates intheHouse of(ommons arechaired bytheSpeaker, thechief ofhcer oftheHouse of[ommons. TheSpeaker ispoliticllyneutral. Heor politi(al sheisanMBeleaed tokeep byfellowMPs order during debates andtomake sure includes making therules arefollowed.Ihis sure the 0pposition hasaguaranteed issues it chooses. amount oftimetodebate Parliament The Speaker also represents atceremonial occasions. Thepartysystem

oroneoftheparties representing Scottish, Welsh, orNorthern lrish interests. There whodonotrepresent arejustafewMPs anyofthemain political parties parties andarecalled'independentslThe mainpolitical voters actively seek members among ordinary tojointheir debates,

Under theBritish system ofparliamentary democracy, anyone canstand forParliament forelection t0theircosts, andhelpatelections orforlocal asanMPbuttheyareunlikely towinanelection unless they contribute gO\/ernment; political parties. in mOst hold have nominated represent major they have branches constituencies and they been t0 oneofthe year. conferences every These Party, Party, aretheLabour the(onservative theLiberal Democrats, policy-making

:-rsureandlobby groups getsanumber groups inproportion t0thenumber 0fvotes theyre(etve. ofseats -'. andlobby areorganisations thattry toinfluence .'- - entpolicy. pr0porti0nal playaveryimportant inNorthern ln Similarly, representation isused lreland roleinpolitics. There are They . (ma theUnion istmajority inly groups toensure'power sharing' between : , l'rssuf€ intheUK. Iheymayrepresent economic interests order -,, rhe[onfederation (mainly Catholic) minority tolrish Protestant) andthesubstantial aligned Industry, theConsumers'Asociation, ofBritish '-. :'ade (e.9. parties. nationalist Adifferent formofproportional representation isused or unions) orviews onparticular subjects Greenpeace -", The public pressure groups general totheEuropean Parliament. than forelections ismore likely tosupport - ':rlitical party. TheWelsh Assembly Government -'e

rivilservice

(WAG), TheNational Asembly forWales, Assembly Government orWelsh , ,:'vants issituated lt has60Assembly Members inCardiff, thecapital cityofWales. whocarry outgovernment aremanagen andadministraton (AMs) years. four Memben in andelections areheld every canspeak have neutral regardless of . , They tobepolitically andprofessional, ' :- political party areinboth lanquages. eitherWelsh orEnglish andallitspublications isinpower. Although civilservants have tofollow - , : -.icies government, TheAsembly hasthepower decisions onimportant matters ifthey tomake theycanwarnministers oftheelected ' - -. apolicy policy, health services, transport and aseducation theenvironment, isimpractical 0rnotinthepublic interest. Before ageneral such - :.: 0ntakes policies localgovernment, place, party's lawsforWales onthese matters wrthin a andtopass the0pp0siti0n topcivilservants study government Parliament statutory framework setoutbytheUK atWestminster. with theyneed tobeready t0serve anew ,t,yincase : -:'entaims andpolicies. TheParliament ofScotland Devolved administration - rrdertogivepeople inWales more control ofmatters andScotland

independence Alongcampaign inScotland formore anddemocratic which control ledtotheformation in1999 oftheParliament ofScotland,

'- :: directly thecapital cityofScotland. r,. in199/thegovernment began aprogramme sitsinEdinburgh, affect them, 'jevolving powerfrom government. has Since 1999there central (MSPs), periodically, Parliament elected by a There are129Memben oftheScottish Asembly, aScottish Parliament and, :.enaWelsh ',t(hernlreland policy This hasledtothesharing of representation. andlawsgoverning defence, aformofproportional Asembly. Although ':,r'eign parties. power The andLiberal Democrat UK inScotland between theLabour allremain under central taxation andsocial security affairs, public n0wcome under the control, many other services lovernment inWales andScotland. administrations -ontrol ofthedevolved

forScotland onallmatten that Parliament canpass legislation Scottish Thematters onwhich arenotspecifically reserved totheUKParliament.

include civilandcriminal law,health, Parliament canlegislate theScottish planning ofadditional uxes. andtheraising Assembly have been setupusing education, Parliament andWelsh 3oththeSconish 'orms party thateach representation which ensures ofproportional

IheNorthern lreland Assembly ANorthern lreland Parliament was established in1922 when lreland was Most ofthemoney forthelocal authority services comes from the divided, butitwas abolished in1972 shortly after thelroubles broke out government thr0ugh taxes. 0nlyabout 2070 isfunded locally through in19696eechapter 1). touncil tax'alocal taxsetbycouncils tohelppayforlocal services. lt properties, applies toalldomestic including houses, bungalows, flats, Soon after theendoftheTroubles, theNorthern lreland Asembly was maisonettes, mobile homes orhouseboats, whether owned orrented. established withapower-sharing agreement which distributes ministerial parties. offices among themain The Assembly has108elected memben Local year. elections forcouncillon areheld inMay every Many candidates (Members known asMLAs oftheLegislative Assembly). Decision-making party. stand forcouncil election asmembers ofapolitical powers devolved t0Northern lreland include education, agriculture, the , judiciary environment, health and social services inNorthern lreland. The The UKgovernment kept thepower t0suspend theNorthern lreland Asembly ifthepolitical leaders nolonger agreed towork together orif theAsembly wasnotworking intheinterests ofthepeople ofNorthern lreland. This hashappened several times andtheAsembly iscunently (2006). suspended This means thattheelected assembly members donot power have topasbills ormake decisions.

IntheUKthelaws made byParliament arethehighest authority. But questions often important arise about howthelaws aretobeinterpreted judges (who inparticular cases. ltisthetask 0fthe aretogether called 'thejudiciary') t0interpretthe law,andthegovernment may notinterfere ' withtheirrole. 0ften theactions ofthegovernment areclaimed tobe illegal and, ifthejudges agree, then thegovernment must either change itspolicies oraskParliament tochange thelaw. This hasbecome allthe government Local more years, important inrecent asthejudges nowhave thetask of applying theHuman Rights Act(see chapter 7).lfthey findthatapublic governed Towns, cities rural and areas intheUKare bydemocratically body isnotrespecting human aperson's rights, theymay order thatbody elected councils, often called local authorities. Some areas have practices pay both tochange its andt0 compensation, ifappropriate. lfthe andcounty district councils which have different functions, although most judges believe thatanActofParlianunt isincompatible withtheHuman larger towns andcities willhave local asingle authority. Many councils Rights Ac1 theycannot itthemselves change buttheycanaskParliament representing towns andcities appoint amayor whoistheceremonial toconsider doing so. leader ofthecouncil butinsome towns amayor isappointed tobethe leader effective oftheadministration. London has33local authorities, Judges people cannot, however, whether decide areguilty orinnocent of withthe6reater London Authority andtheMayor ofLondon serious crimes. When isaccused someone ofaserious crime, ajurywill policies co-ordinating acros thecapital. Local authorities arerequired decide whether heorsheisinnocent orguilty and, ifguilty, will thejudge provide'mandatory to services'in theirarea. These services include decide onthepenalty. Forlesimportant crimes, amagistrate willdecide passenger education, housing, social services, transport, thefireservice, onguilt penalty. and onany planning, rubbish collection, environmental health libraries. and

-re

police

". :olice political government isorganised locally, with0nepolice service foreach service opinions andruncampaigns totryandinfluence -:y . orgroup ofcounties. Ihelargest force istheMetropolitan Police, policy Asaresult itissometimes andpublic opinion. difficult to - -r serves London andisbased atNewScotland Yard. Northern lreland distinguish factfrom innewspaper coverage. opinion (PSNI). , : ,,;hol€ isserved bythePolice Service forNorthern lreland Ihe parties independencei whichmeans thatthegovernmentBylaw,radio , ,ehavebperational andtelevision coverage ofthepolitical atelection , otinstruct themonwhattodoinanyparticular case. Butthepowers periods must bebalanced andsoequal timehas t0begiven torival ---epolice politicians arelimited bythelawandtheirfinances arecontrolled by viewpoints. Butbroadcasters arefreetointerview inatough '-. rovernment andbypolice authorities made upofcouncillon and andlively way. (or, The Independent Police in , r strates. Complaints Commision ':rern lreland, thePolice 0mbudsman) intlestigates serious complaintsWhocanvote? -: rstthepolice. (quangos) public \on-departmental bodies

TheUnited hashadafullydemocratic 1928, when Kingdom system since present women were allowed t0vote at21,thesame age asmen.Ihe votlnq and(with afewexceptions such as ageof1Bwassetin1969,

' ^ public prisoners) bodies, also known asquangos, are convicted citizens have fullcivic departmental allUK-born andnaturalised jury public organisations thatcany 0nbehalfofthe rights, including ::pendent 0utfunctions theright t0vote anddo service. - ih it wouldbeinappropriate toplace under thepolitical control ofa (ifresident r: netminister. Ihere hundreds carrying out [itizens aremany ofthese bodies, oftheUK,theCommonwealth andthelrishRepublic , .',devariety ofpublic duties. Appointments t0these bodies areusually je buttheymust : byministers, d0s0inanopen andfairway.

intheUK)canvoteinallpublic elections. [itizens ofEUstates whoare parliamentary resident except national intheUKcanvoteinallelections (general) elections.

Iheroleofthemedia : ',reedings inParliament television and arebroadcast 0ndiqital

youmust Inorder localorEuopean election, tovoteinaparliamentary, yourname have ofelectors, known astheelectoral register. 0ntheregister

youcanregister yourlocalcouncil inofficial reports such whichisavailable inlarge lfyouareeligible t0vote, bycontacting : -rlished asHansard, Mostpeople, however, election regi*ration lfyoudon'tknowwhatyourlocalauthority is, :raries and0ntheinternet:www.parliament.uk. office. (LGA) (often youcanfindoutbytelephoning political fromnewspapers theLocal Government Association ::i information about issues andevents information 9amand5pm,Monday to television andradio. lineon02076643131between , ledthepres), postcode your your Friday. or fulladdres and Youwillhave totellthem -^e Youcanalso is theywillbeabletogiveyouthename ofyourlocalauthority. UKhasafreepres,meaning thatwhatiswritteninnewspapers "te fromgovernment holdstrong getvoterregistration forms inEnqlish, Welsh andsome otherlanguages control. Newspaper owners andeditors 0ntheinternet: www.electoralcommision.orq.uk

Contacting elected members year inSeptember An The electoral register isupdated every or0ctober. registration formissent toevery household andit has tobe electoral is in returned, with the names of everyone who resident completed and eligible tovote onI 50ctober. thehousehold and

Allelected members have adutyt0serve andrepresent theirconstituents. You cangetcontact details forallyour representatives andtheirparties your members, MSPs, MPs from local library. Asembly andMEPs are listed inthephone andYellow Pages. You cancontact MPs by also book ortheiroffice intheHouse of letter orphone attheirconstituency office (ommons, (ommons:The This iscalled individual House of Westminster, London 5W1A 0AA, or InNorthern lreland adifferent system operates. vote must their own 3000. Many Asembly Members, MSPs, MPs and registration andallthose entitled t0 complete telephone: 0207729 provided MEPs youcanstay holdregular local'surgeriesi These inthelocal registration form.Once registered, 0ntheregister areoften advertised penonal your Formore information telephone the paper cangoandtalkabout issues inperson. You can details andconstituents donotchange. local MPandgetintouch withthem forNorthern lreland on0289044 6688. findoutthename ofyour byfax Electoral 0ffice isfiee. through thewebsite: www.writetothem.com.Ihis service for local has tomake itselectoral regi$er available Bylaweach authority Administrations Iheregister is How tovisitParliament andtheDevolved anyone t0look at,although thisnowhas tobesupervised. kept local registration offce(orcouncil office inEngland ateach electoral public posible inthePalace from Wales). ltisalso t0see theregister atsome buildings * Ihepublic canlisten todebates ofWestminster and public galleries House libraries. in both the ofCommons and the House ofLords. such as local fortickets or You caneither write toyour MPinadvance toask yOu foroffice Standing canqueue onthedayatthepublic entrance. Entrance isfree. fortheHouse and Sometimes there arelongqueues ofCommons you for least lt is Kingdom, thelrish Republic orthe may have towait at oneortwohours. usually easier Most citizens oftheUnited (ommonwealth You information onthe 18orover canstand forpublic office. Ihere are t0getintotheHouse ofLords. canfindfurther aged www.oarliament.uk forces, civil UKParliament website: s0me excepti0ns andthese include members ofthearmed E guilty found criminal offences. Members of servants andpeople 0fcertain r members, known meet inthe forelection of(ommons InNorthern lreland, elected asMLAs, theHouse ofLords may notstand totheHouse public in The Northern lreland Asembly at Stormont, Belfast. Northern for officel butare eligibleallother There t0 lreland Asembly ispresently suspended. aretwoways You theEducation must have arrange caneither contact Tobecome alocal councillor. acandidate alocal connection avisitt05t0rm0nt. (details Asembly website: register, Service ontheNorthern lreland withthearea through work, being ontheelectoral orthrough property. MLA www.niassembly.gov.uk) orcontact an renting land 0rowning or

.'rtland, theelected members, caledMSPs, meet intheScottish (formore :rment atHolyrood inEdinburgh information see parliament ,',srottish uk). You rangetlnf0rmati0n, b00k ti(kets '',in0eI0Llrs (an rhr0tr0h thevisir0r Y0u writet0themat services. Parliament, EH99 15?ortelephone - rcottish Edinburgh, ' 1485200, oremail [email protected] '

members, : es,theelected known asAMs, meet intheWelsh ,:mbly (formore intheSenedd in[ardiff information see: Bay ', ,vaesgovLk). You carboo[guided t0u60rsears i1rl"e fortheWeshAssembly : i galeries Tomake abookrng, telephone ' .ssembly bookrng lrne on0292089 B4l7 oremail: gov ,.rb [email protected] uk

andtheworld TheUKinEurope

The Commonwealth (ommonwealth were ofwhich most ofcountries, isanasociation The notin thatwere partoftheBritish afewcountries though Empire, once joined it. have also theEmpire members Commonwealth andBarbuda Antigua Australia The Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Darussalam (ameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Fijilslands IheGambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius

Mozambique Namibia Nauru* Zealand New Nigeria Pakistan New Guinea Papua andNevis 5tKitts 5tLucia andtheGrenadines 5tVincent Samoa 5eychelles Leone Siena 5ingapore lslands 5olomon Africa 5outh SriLanka 5waziland Tonga lobago Trinidad and Tuvalu Uganda Kingdom United ofTanzania Republic United Vanuatu Zambia *Nauru Member. isaSpecial

has53 cunently which oftheCommonwealth, isthehead The Queen has andtheCommonwealth isvoluntary Membership member states. The membership. itcansuspend although itsmembers over nopower good government andto democracy, topromote aims Commonwealth poverty. eradicate (EU) Union European The (EU), Economic called theEuropean originally Union European The who countries (EEt), European wassetupbysixWestern Community for reasons 1957. One ofthemain on25March ofRome signed theTreaty reduce would states between co-operation thebeliefthat thiswas doing not theUKdecided 0riginally warinEurope. ofanother thelikelihood partoftheEuropean in1973. Union andonlybecame t0jointhisgroup joined twoin withafurther countries theEU, tennewmember In2004 countries. of27member atotal 2006 making as tofunction states isformember today oftheEU aims ofthemain One currency, ashared oftheEUhave Most ofthecountries market. asingle the unless its own cunency retain to theeuro, buttheUKhasdecided (itizens ofan inareferendum. people theeuro t0accept choose British if inanyEUcountry toandwork totravel have theright state EUmember 0n This rightcanberestricted pasport oriderftycard. avalid theyhave public right to Ihe public security. and health, order ofpublic thegrounds joined thathave f0rcitizens 0fc0untries restricted isalso sometimes work theEUrecently. (usually ofMinisten) called the(ouncil Union oftheEuropean The Council upofgovernment lt ismade body oftheEU. thegoverning iseffectively withtheEuropean together intheEUand, country fromeach ministers (ouncil ofMinisters The oftheEU. body isthelegislative Parliament, (ommission and pases oftheEuropean EUlawontherecommendations about decisions important themost andtakes Parliament theEuropean

(UN) The United Nations (UN), The : ) run. European [ommission isbased inBrusels, the The UKisamember Nations oftheUnited aninternational ' , ,' Belgium. proposalsorganisation ltisthecivil service oftheEU anddrafts towhich over 190 nowbelong.The countries

UNwas set

programmes. upafter : . :o icies andlaws andadministers itsfunding theSecond World War toprevent warandpromote andaims

peace international andsecurity.There ontheUN are15memben :,:n Parliament meets inStrasbourg, innorth-eastern France, Security which recommends Council, action bytheUNwhen there -::els. Each country elects members, called Members ofthe areinternational crises andthreats tooeace. The UKisoneofthefive (MEPs), yean.The , ::rliament everyfive European Parliament permanent members. ', :ecisions made bytheEuropean Council andtheEuropean , r, andrthas thepower torefuse agreement toEuropean laws ',I t/ thefommission andtocheck funds. onthespending ofEU

produced Ihree very important agreements bytheUNaretheUniveral (onvention Declaration ofHuman Rights, 0ntheElimination the ofAll Forms ofDiscriminati0n andtheUN[onvention againstWomen, onthe lawislegally intheUKand .' ,- Jnion binding allthe other member Rightsof Although hastheforceof the(hild. noneof these law,theyare : -'rpean laws, called directives, regulations widely orframework used inpolitical debate cases toreinforce andlegal thelawandto -, have made rights intheUK, alotofdifference topeople's assess thebehaviour ofcountries. '

:' yatwork. Forexample, there areEUdirectives about the ' --'esformaking workers redundant, andregulations thatlimitthe :.' ofhoun canbemade towork. oeoole

'e Council ofEurope wascreated , .lncrl ofEurope in1949 andtheUKwasoneofthe - ::r members. Most ofthecountries lt has 0fEur0pe aremembers. - , ,',€r t0make laws butdraws upconventions andcharten which -, ln human rights, health democracy, education, theenvironment, (onvention : -.llture.The m0$important0fthese istheEuropean on -:n Rights; (onvention allmember states arebound bythis anda .- rerstate whichpenistently refuses maybe toobey theConvention (ouncil ,:: red from the ofEurope.

(hAPtCr5: EVERYDAYNEEDS Housing

Buying a home Inthischapter thereisinformation Two-thirds intheUKowntheirownhome. Mostotherpeople ofpeople a00ut:

renthouses, flats orrooms.

,:.Housing

Mortgages

= Services inandforthehome - Monel andcredit

payforit withamortqage, People whobuytheirownhome usually from This loan ispaid aspecial loan abank orbuilding society. back, withinterest, overalongperiod oftime,usually 25years. Youcanget

= Health

information mortgages fromabank about orbuilding society. Some (Sharia) give lslamic mortgages. banks can also information about

Pregnancy andcare ofyoung children

= Education = Leisure = Travel andtransport ':' ldentity documents

problems paying yourmortgage youcan lfyouarehaving repayments, (see gethelpandadvice Helponpage 57).lt isimportant tospeak to your bank orbuilding society ass00n asyouran. Estate agents lfyouwishtobuyahome, usually thefirstplace tostartisanestate gofirsttoa agent. InScotland theproces isdifferent andyoushould person solicitor represent Estate agents the selling theirhouse orflat. Iheyanange forbuye6 t0visithomes thatareforsale. There areestate inalltowns have websites where agents andcities andtheyusually they forsale. Youcanalsofinddetails homes for advertise thehomes about newspapen. sale ontheinternet andinnational andlocal Making anoffer youwishtobuyyou IntheUK,except inScotland, whenyoufindahome have dothisthrough tomake anoffertothesellerYouusually anestate people isasking agent orsolicitor Many offeralowerprice thantheseller if Your fint offermustbesubjert t0contract's0 thatyoucanwithdraw

purchase. InScotland whyyou cannotcompletethe there arereasons amount.The aprice andbuyers make offe6 overthat thesellersets in legally earlier than itdoes elsewhere becomes binding agreement

Youarethenassessed according toyour department atthelocalauthority. points ifyou Yougetmore Thisisdonethrough asystem ofpoints. needs. priority children or forexample ifyouarehomeles andhave have needs,

theUK.

illhealth. chronic

andsurveyor 5olicitor

of areas oftheUKthereisashortage It isimportant t0notethatinmany people have towaitaverylong council accommodation, andthatsome

youthrough orflat. timeforahouse theprocess ofbuying It isimportant thatasolrcitor helps youmake will anofferonaproperty, thesolicitor ahouse orflat.When associations theseller andthelocal Housing oflegalchecks ontheproperty, rarryoutanumber foryouto necessary Thesolicitor willprovide thelegalagreements area. youwith Thebank orbuilding society thatisproviding buytheproperty. yourmortgage orflatyouwish willalsocanyoutchecks onthehouse Ihebuyer notusually seethe These aredonebyasurveyor. does tobuy.

n0t-f0r-profi t organisations areindependent Housing associations areas theyhave taken overthe whichprovide housing forrent.Insome housing. They alsorunschemes called administration oflocalauthority orfla ifthey whichhelppeople buypartofahouse shared ownership,

surveyor tocheck s0thebuyer oftenasks asecond result ofthrssurvey, Ihereareusually waiting listsfor cannot afford tobuyallofit atonce. anofferis thesurvey iscanied outbefore thehouse aswell.InScotland property. people homes owned byhousing assocrations. howmuch theywanttobidforthe made, tohelp decide Rented accommodation

rented accommodation Privately

(the from thelocal authority Itispossible torent accommodation property 0wne6 fromahousing association orfromprivate council),

people fromlandlords. Information renthouses orflatsprivately, Many private notice canbefoundinlocalnewspapers, accommodation about

landlords. called

agen6' estate agents andletting boards,

Thelocal authority

Tenancy agreement

(orcouncils) provide houslng. Thisisoftencalled Mostlocalauthorities 'council housing isprovided bythe housingi InNorthern lreland social (www.nihe.co.uk). you InScotland lreland Housing Executive Northern

yousignatenancy yourentahouse agreement, When orflatprivately while must follow explains theconditions 0r'rules'you orlease.Ihis

Everyone is housing at:www.sfha.co.uk. onsocial canfindrnformation put you your must for accommodation.Io apply entitled t0apply council fromthehousing register name onthecouncil orlist.Thisisavailable

verycarefully to mustbechecked renting theproperty. Thisagreement problems fu rn iture lso conta ins a list of any later. Theagreement a avoid yousignthe Ihisiscalled aninventory. Before intheproperty. orfittrngs your itsafe during tenancy. check thedeuils andkeep agreement,

Deposit andrent

Homelessness

You willprobably beasked togive thelandlord adeposit atthebeginninglfyouarehomeless youshould goforhelp (0r,in tothelocal authority your rf tenancy. This ist0cover thecost ofany damage. ltisusually equal Northern lreland, theHousing Executive). They have alegal dutyt0offer i0One month's rent. The landlord must return thismoney toyouatthe help andadvice, youaplace butwillnotoffer youhave toliveunless :nd0fyour youhave tenancy, unless (see caused damage t0theproperty. priority need above) andhave aconnection withthearea, such as work orfamily. You must also y0u6elf show thatyouhave notmade 'ourrentisfixed withyour landlord atthebeginning ofthetenancy. The intentionally homeless. :ndlord cannot raise your therent without agreement. Help '/ouhave alowincome youmay orareunemployed beable toclaim - lusing (see youpay Benefit your Help) tohelp rent. problems lfyouarehomeless orhave withyour landlord, help canbe found from thefollowing: Renewing andending atenancy r lhehousing department ofthelocal authority willgive advice on ' . Jrrenancy period agreement willbeforafixed oftime, often six homelessness andonHousing Benefit aswellasdeal withproblems - lnths. After thistimethetenancy canbeended or,ifboth youmay tenant and property have incouncil-owned ,"dlord agree, renewed. lfyouendthetenancy you before thefixed time, -,,allyhave topaytherent o The fortheagreed fullperiod ofthetenancy. [itizens Advice Bureau willgive advice onalltypes of problems. housing There may also beahousing inyour advice centre : : ndlordcannot force atenant toleave. lfalandlord wishes atenant t0 neighbourhood .:,etheymust procedures. follow theconect These vary according tothe ' ,:eoftenancy. hisacriminal o Shelter offence foralandlord touse threats isahousing charity which runs a24-hour helpline on ', , olence against atenant ortoforce them t0leave without anorder 0808 800 4444, visit or www.shelternet.org.uk -: - (ourt. !r Drrgimination ' , rnlawful foralandlord todiscriminate against someone looking for ^'t : .. modation group, because oftheirsex, race, nationality, orethnic ' :ecause theyaredisabled, unless thelandlord oraclose relative ofthe :' : lrdissharino theaccommodation.

I Help withthecost ofmoving andsetting uphome may beavailable from theSocial Fund. This isrunbytheDepartment forWork and (DWP). provides grants Pensions lt andloans such astheCommunity (areGrant forpeople setting uphome after being homeles orafter theyhave been inprison institutions. loans orother 0ther areavailable forpeople whohave hadanemergency such asflooding. Information about isavailable these a theCitizens Advice Bureau orJbbcentre Plus.

inandforthehome Services

Water

Telephone

Thecharge forthisiscalled the issupplied toallhomes intheUK. Water (bought you int0anewhome orrented), waterrates. whenyoumove responsible 0fthecompany receive alettertellingyouthename should yourwater. Thewaterrates maybepaidinonepayment forsupplying (alumpsum)orininstalments, Housing monthly. lfyoureceive usually

line(called alandline).lfyouneed Mosthomes have atelephone already Many acable company. BTon150442,0rcontact anewline,telephone internet mobile telephone andbroadband companies offer landline, prices yourcompany about orabout changing services. Youcangetadvice payphones Youcancallfrompublic from0fcom al www.ofcom.org.uk.

youshould thewaterrates. Thecost check toseeifthiscoven Benefit, property, butsome water onthesize ofyour 0fthe usually depends you water have whichtellsyouexactly howmuch homes awatermeter (2006) included inthe have InNorthern lreland wateriscunently used. (ouncil (see change rates 59),although thismay taxonpage domestic

phonecards pre-paid ordebit cards. Calls made orcredit using cash, more Dial999or112for areusually expensive. fromhotels andhostels These callsarefree. forpolice, fireorambulance service. emergency calls youcanalways numbers if it isnotarealemergency; Donotusethese inthephone numbers forthese services book. findthelocal

infuture. Bills andgas Electricity gas,electricity andthetelephone Information 0nhowt0payforwater, y0ucanpay properties bill.lfyouhave abank account Mosthomes isfound ontheback ofeach intheUKhave supplied at240volts. All electricity debit. Mostcompanies operate a gas. youmove order ordirect intoanewhome orleave anoldone,you yourbillsbystanding When alsohave youtopayafixedsumevery month. lfyou whichallows readings. lfyouhave budget scheme make andgasmeter should anoteoftheelectricity youcanring donotpayabill,theservice reconnected, problem canbecutoff.Togetaservice supply, withyourgas,electricity 0rwater anurgent youhave Pages topayanother charge. onyourbill,intheYellow or helpline. Thiscanbefound a24-hour book. inthephone Refuse collection andelectricity suppliers Gas authority collects the Refuse isalso called waste, orrubbish. }le local gas week. Waste mustbe regularly, onthesame dayofeach supplien. waste usually differentandelectricity Itisposible tochoose between parts place prices t0getcollected. Insome ofthe inaparticular andconditions. Getadvice putoutside have different anddifferent terms These inothers it isputintobins thewaste isputintoplastic bags, Tofindoutwhichcompany country yousignacontract withanewsupplier. before your gas, on08i06081524 supplies telephoneTransco

yourrubbish, places youmustrecycle separating Inmany withwheels. which paper, glas,metal Large objects fromtheotherrubbish. orplastic

need youwantt0thr0waway, orafridge, your such asabed,awardrobe electricity, telephone Iofindoutwhich company supplies toarrange this.lf Contact thelocalauthority tobecollected separately. on0845 9060708 orvisitwww.energywatch.org.uk. Energywatch youmustmake special youhave orashop, your abusiness, such asafactory give youadvice supplier of onchanging Energywatch canalso lt is foryourwaste t0becollected. withthelocalauthority arrangements orgas. electricity rubbish anywhere. offence todump acriminal

Tax -:uncil youhave theystarted. areandwhen what theproblems toshow exactly police, roads, refuse such aseducation, : t0vpt'fl rr€r]t s€rvices, ., : 0nandlibraries, tocourt and may betaken nuisance avery serious whocause thegovernmentNeighbours bygrantsfrom forpartly arepaid home can beevicted from their (see In 4 Local Government). Tax chapter : : i,rlybyCouncil '-.'n lreland rates instead oftheCouncil there isasystem ofdomestic -^e helpneighbours to which organisations There mediation areseveral pay you value of on the size and Tax depends ofCouncil amount ' ,:seorflat(dwelling). talktoboth Mediators without having tog0t0court. theirdisputes when solve register topay[ouncilTax You must get 0f You cn details toboth. acceptable andtrytofindasolution You can sides orthetenant. astheowner either , /eintoanewproperty, '-: taxinone Advice, and Citizens auth0rity, from thelocal payment, organisations inteninstalments mediation intwoinstalments,0r iationuk.co.uk. :cril www.med orvisit: Mediation UKon0'l179046661 toJanuary). yougeta250/o reduction person , -ine lives intheflatorhouse, (This may lreland). You inNorthern notapply Tax. does -' [ouncil property People has a disability. inthe ifsomeone -':areduction or Support such asIncome benefits , ,','in(ome orwhoreceive ..-'.ersAllowance on You cangetadvice Tax Benefit. cangetCouncil ' r thelocal Advice Bureau. 0rthe Citizens authoritv insurance :.-ldings andhousehold youmust against insure thebuilding withamortgage, : Lyahome '-:'r andaccidental insurance should anange landlord damage.The '-:edbuildings. your possesions theft against wise ltisalso t0insure .. insurance. thatprovide companies : rge. Ihere aremany r*ghbours youwillhave agreement. atenancy accommodation, , ,'einrented .'rlainsalltheconditions include ltwillprobably tenancy. ofyour - arion problems housing. withyour todoifyouhave onwhat lfyoudohave neighbours. withyour may beproblems , ,rally, there to by besolvedspeaking neighboun, theycanusually :rs withyour -'st.lfyoucannot local landlord, toyour speak theproblem, solve ' ' :yorhousing problems incase ofthe arecord Keep association.

Money andcredit

cards Cash anddebit (values) off5,f10,f20and notes intheUKcome indenominations Bank have notes which are lreland theirownbank f50.Northern andScotland people may notrealise valid everywhere intheUK, though sometimes may notwish them. this and t0accept The euro (EU) states adopted theeuro as InJanuary 2002 twelve European Union government not to the IheUK decided adopt theircommon cunency. people itwillonlydosoiftheBritish \/ote atthattime, andhas said eur0 in circulate tosome extent fortheeuro inareferendum. Iheeuro does particularly near theborder withlreland. Northern lreland, inthetowns

your youtouse machines towithdraw money from cash Cash cards allow (PlN) which ldentification Number For thisyouneed aPersonal account. youtopayforthings without youmust Adebit allows keep secret. card your what You must have money in account to cover cash. enough using youbuy. your youmust inform thebank lfyoulose card ordebit card cash immediately. Credit andstore cards

(redit inshops, onthetelephone andover cards canbeused tobuythings card butused onlyinaspecific Astore card islikeacredit theinternet. money fromyour bank account, [reditandstore cards donotdraw shop. month. lfyoudonotpaythetotalamount abillevery butyouwillbesent Although credit andstore cards are interest. onthebill,youarecharged Foreign currency people fallintodebt this isusually very highandmany useful, theinterest youmust your inform thecompany lfyoulose orstore cards credit large way. foreign currency atbanks, building societies, You cangetorchange post You might have orbureaux dechange. to immediately. offrces andexchange shops you vary The exchange rates and should order some cunencies inadvance. forthebest check deal. Banks andbuilding societies

Many large intheUKhave orbuilding society aaount. Most adults abank have branches intowns andcities national banks orbuilding societies ltisworth checking thedifferent types ofaccount throughout theUK. paysalaries intoabank or Many directly each oneoffers. employers societies There aremany banks andbuilding building society account. youneed documents t0 from. Toopen toshow tochoose anaccount, prove your ordriving identity, immigration document such asapassport, withyour onit like You need something address licence. also toshow posible toopen bank orhousehold bill.hisalso atenancy agreement insome orontheinternet. accounts suoermarkets

-redit andloans

Social security

: eintheUKoftenbonow money frombanks andotherorganisationsIheUKhasasystem ofsocial security whichpays welfare benefits to goods, people :,, forthings likehousehold holidays. cars and This ismore whodonothave money enough toliveon.Benefits areusually ron intheUKthaninmany Youmustbeverysure otherrountries. 0f available forthesickanddisabled, olderpeople, theunemployed and , ::rmsandconditions whenyoudecide Youcanqet those totakeoutaloan. onlowincomes. People whodonothave legalrights ofresidence from -eonloans thefitizens Advice Bureau ifyou areuncertain. (or'settlement') intheUKcannot usually receive Arrangements benefits. :erng refused credit .: andother youto organisations use different information about

forpayinq andreceiving benefits arecomplex because theyhave t0cover people inmany different situations. Guides tobenefts from areavailable postoffices Jobcentre Plus offices, locallibraries, andtheCitizens Advice Burea u.

,.: adecision about aloan, such asyour occupation, address, salary record. lfyouapply :revious credit foraloanyoumightberefused. lf ^rppens, youhave why. theriqht toask thereason -':ditunions : : unions arefinancial co-operatives owned andcontrolled bytheir - rers. pool The members their savings andthen make loans from rates rncredit : rol.lnterest unions areusually lower than banks and : rq societies. There inmany arecredit unions cities andtowns. Tofind -:arest credit union contact theAssociation ofBritish fredit Unions

- ., L)on:www.abcul.coop. 'turance

',:I asinsuring (see property their andposessions above), many phones. They : : insure their credit cards andmobile also buy ':nce when lose lugqaqe they travel abroad inrase they their or you : nedicaltreatment. Insurance iscompulsory if have acaror ' 'rycle. You canusually arrange insurance withaninsurance directly yougetthebendeal. abroker whowillhelp :any, 0ryou(anuse

lncludingJobcentresand social security offices

Health

withaGP Registering Youshould t0anewarea. asyoumove lookforaGPassoon Youshould Health Service theNational under intheUKisorganised Healthcare willtellyouwhat 0rsurgery, centre, notwaituntilyouareill.Thehealth in orqanisations (NH5). ln1948, andisoneofthelargest TheNH5 began lfyoudo you card. amedical youneed Usually musthave todotoregister. healthcare andtreatment. withfree lt provides allresidents Europe. giveyouaformtosend tothe should nothave one,theGPsreceptionist youamedrcal card. send Iheywillthen health authority. local adoctor Finding youshould canofferwhatyou youregister check thesurgery (GPs) Before work in andthey Practitioner General Family docton arecalled services. youmightneed Gformaterntty awoman Forexample, practice.Ihis issometimes need. lnagroup GPs oftenworktoqether surgeries. patients newones. toaccept andareunable many 6Pshave Sometimes Health [areCentre. aPrimary called t0helpyou authority findaGByoucanaskyourlocalhealth lfyoucannot youreceive. thehealth treatment fororganising Your GPrsresponsible need tosee a lfyou illneses. andmental Treatment canbeforphysical you GPwillthenrefer toa youmustg0t0yourGPfint.Your specialist,

findone. yourdoctor Using

if youforspecialist treatment GPcanalsorefer inahospital. Your specialist check. t0afreehealth withaGPareentitled registering Allpatients youhave needs. special person. phone orin by theGPcanbemade tosee Appointments youcansee days before you to wait several have Sometimesmight post thetourist offices, fromlibraries, GPs You cangetaIistoflocal

attention askforanurgent medical immediate lfyouneed Authority adoctor. thelocalHealth Advice Bureau, office, the[itizens information before gototheGPssurgery afewminutes Youshould appointment. websites: thefollowing andfrom theappointment ordonOtneed attend lfyoucannot theappointment. patients to The GP needs you know. anymore, mustletthesurgery practitioners inEngland; forhealth www.nhs.uk/ practiti0ne6 inWales; forhealth www.wales.nhs.uk/directory.cfm practitioners lreland; in Northern forhealth www.n-i.nhs.uk inScotland. ndnearest/healthservices www.show.scot.nhs.uk/fi forthename oftheirlocaldoctor andfriends Youcanalsoaskneighbours ofan letter onlyinthecase aGP's without ahospital You canattend gototheAccldent and youshould lfyouhave anemergency emergency. (A&E)department hospital. ofthenearest Emerqency

is inorder tofindoutwhat asposible asfully allquestions answer andcannot confidential youtelltheGPiscompletely Everything wrong. permision. your lfyoudonot without else 0nt0anyone bepased with difficulties lfyouhave askforclarification. s0mething, understand for you, thereceptionist orask whocanhelp bring someone Engllsh, youmake theappointment. when This must bedone aninterpreter. your thatyoukeep it isimportant foraninterpreter, asked lfyouhave isexpensive. thisservice because appointment

Feeling unwell . , ' .:ptional circumstances, GPs canvisitpatients athome butthey

lfyouoryour youhave child feels unwell thefollowing options

''arges

c speak toanurse byphoning NHS Direct on0845 M 47

priority , ,',',: give t0people whoareunable lfyoucalltheGP totravel. youwillhave questions For .' :enormal working hours, toanswer several information oradvice ,:, -: /0ursituation. your Ihisistoassess howserious case is.You will -,- :etoldifadoctor w ask your cancome your pharmacist pharmacy t0 home. You might beadvised to local The cangive advice on khemist). .' :lenearestA&Edepartment. medicines andsome illnesses andconditions thatarenotserious

':'-?ntfrom s use isfreebutyouhave theGP topayacharge foryour theNHS Direct website, NHS wwwnhsdirect.nhs.uk Direct 0nline: ..*: . resandforcertain services, such asvaccinations fortravel abroad. ' '-, :r decides youneed you totake medicine willbegiven a Tosee adoctor ornurse . pharmacy : :tion. You must take this toa khemist). a make your anappointment tosee GP oranurse working inthesurgery r::rriptions '. ' tlions are free foranyone whois - :er16yean (under ofage 25inWales) .- ::r 19and infull-time education ::al60orover '12 '::rdnt0rwithababy undermonths old ,-:,rng from medicalcondition aspecified

o visit anNHS walk-in centre. For urgent medical treatment . contact your GP I g0t0your nearest hospital withanA(ident and Emergency 0epartment t call999foranambulance. Calls arefree. 0NLY use thisservice fora real emergency.

provides NHS Direct isa24-hour telephone which information service on , . ,ingIncome Support, Jobseekers'Allowance, Working Families or particular health conditions. Telephone: 4647.You may 0845 ask foran .,rilities Tax Credit. interpreter foradvice inyour InSmtland, NHS24 ownlanguage. at: www.nhs24.com teleohone 08454 242424.

providing NHS Direct 0nline isawebsite information about health servicesFree dental treatment isavailable t0 medical andseveral conditions andtreatments: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk w people people 18(inWales under under 25and over 60) provide NHS walk-in centres treatment forminor injuries andillnesses seven days aweek. You Fordetails donotneed anappointment. ofyour r pregnant women andwomen withbabies 12months under old nearest centre callNH5 Direct orvisittheNH5 website atwww.nhs.uk (forNorthern lreland www.n-i.nhs.uk) NH5 andclick on'local servicesl * people onincome support, Jobseekers'Allowance [redit orPension Guarantee Going intohospital 0pticians youwillprobably lfyouneed minor tests atahospital, attend the youwilI 0utpatients people department. lfyour treatment takes severa I hours, Most have topayforsight tests andglases, except children, gointohospital youwillgo people asadaypatient. lfyouneed tostay overnight, over 60,people withcertain eyeconditions receiving andpeople intohospital asanin-patient. certain benefits. InScotland, tests free. eye are penonal You should take belongings withyou, night such asatowel, gown. forwashing, clothes, things andadressing You willreceive all your youareanin-patient. going meals while lfyouneed about advice (ustomer intohospital, contact Advice Services orthePatient andLiaison (PALS) youwillreceive Service atthehospital where treatment. Dentists

Pregnancy andcare ofyoung children youwillreceive lfyouarepregnant regular ante-natal care. This is your from available local hospital, local health centre orfrom special clinics. You willreceive antenatal support from aGP andfromamidwife. Midwives work inhospitals orhealth centres. Some GPs donotprovide your maternity wish services soyoumay tolook foranother GP during pregnancy. IntheUKwomen have usu@ theirbabies inhospital, especially ifit istheirfintbaby. ltiscommon forthefather toattend the birth, butonly ifthemother wants himtobethere.

You cangetthename ofadentist byasking atthelocal library, atthe people Citizens Advice Bureau NHS andthrough Direct. Most have to payfordental treatment. Some dentists work fortheNHS andsome are private. youhave your NHS dentists less youwillbegin charge thanprivate dentists, butsome dentists Ashort timeafter with child, regular contact have twosets ofcharges, Adentist youabout bothNHS andprivate. should explain ahealth visitor. She orheisaqualified nune andcanadvise your treatment and thecharges before thetreatment begins. foryour The willbeinyour caring baby. firstvisits home, butafter that

:etthehealth visitor ataclinic. Youcanaskadvice fromyour rntilyour child isfiveyean old.Inm0$towns andcities groups :'erandtoddler orplaygroups forsmall children. jreplace atlocal churches andcommunity centres. You (see yourchildtoanursery . :osend school 6oingto school

*''--.:l l0 0npregnan(y ' ' rmationmaternity on andante-natal inyour services area ,'ealthauthority, ahealth visitororyourGPThe number of .'-ority willbeinthephone book. (FPA) ,- ^ ngAssociation gives advice 0ncontraception and --t FPA's helpline is0845 3101334, or:wwwfpa.org.uk - jbirth gives Trust information andsupport inpregnancy, .'''yparenthood: www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com u':.!

-::birth

'-'

withtheRegistrar rourbaby ofBirths, Maniages and . rrfice)withinsixweeks ofthebirth.The addres ofyour *:e isinthephone book. lftheparents aremanied, either ':'-?r(anregister thebirth. lfthey arenotmarried, only '.:ister thebirth. lftheparents arenotmanied butwant --. child's birthcertificate, bothmother andfather must :"eyregister their baby.

Education

Going toschool

Secondary schools

Education intheUKisfreeandcompulsory forallchildren between the ages of5and16(4to'16 inNorthern lreland).Ihe education system

gotosecondary Ataqe11(12inScotland) children Thismlght school. normally betheschool nearest theirhome, inEngland butparents and Wales areallowed toexpress apreference foradifferent school. Insome

varles inEngland, Scotland, Wales andNorthern lreland.

gettinq place inaprefened areas, asecondary school school canbe diffrcult, andparents t0several inorder oftenapply schools tomake sur.

(hild parent ihechild's 0rguardian isresponsible formaking sure their goes year. toschool, anives ontimeandattends forthewholeschool lf they donotdothis, may theparent orguardian beprosecuted.

theirchildgetsoffered aplace. InNorthern lreland many select schools children through attheageof11. atest taken

Some areas ofthecountry offerfreenursery education forchildren over isdivided theaqeof3.InmostpartsoftheUK,compulsory education

places, lftheprefened school hasenough thechildwillbeoffered apla.. places, places lftherearenotenough children willbeoffered : according

primary places into twostages, isa andsecondary. Insome there primary middle+chool system. InEngland and Wales the stage lasts

theschools Admission admission arrangements. anangements varyfro-

from5to I 1,inScotland from5to12andinNorthern lreland trom 4to1l. Thesecondary lastsuntiltheageof16.Atthatageyoung stage people withtheir can choose toleave school 0rt0iontinue education 'll until they are or18. Details oflocalschools areavailable fromyourlocaleducation auth0rity orwebsite. Theaddresses numbers office andphone oflocaleducation authorities areinthephone book.

area toarea. Secondary schools thanprimary arelarger schools. Mostaremixed sex, insome although there aresingle sexschools areas. Your localeducatior willgiveyouinformation authority onschools inyourarea. lt willalso you give you tell whichschools have spaces and information why about places some children willbegiven whenonlyafewareavailable andr,l' otherchildren mightnot.lt willalsotellyouhowtoapply foraseconda', place. school

Primary schools

Costs

These areusually schools where bothboys andgirlslearn together andare group usually close toachildshome. Children tendtobewiththesame parents andteacher allday.Schools encourage t0helptheirchildren with particularly learning, withreading andwritinq.

Education intheUKi, fr.,,,Uutparents atstate schools harte t0paytor school uniforms wearThere for andsports aresometimes extracharges music lessons Parents andforschool outings. onlowincomes canget helpwithcosts, andwiththecostofschool meals. Youcangetadvice on thlsfromthelocaleducatron authority 0rthe[itizens Advice Bureau.

.'.rchandother faith schools

Assessment

, :' mary andsecondary schools intheUKarelinked totheChurch of InEngland, thecuniculum isdivided intofourstages, called Key Stages. . :' r 0rthe Roman Catholic fhurch.These (als are called'faith schoolsi After each stage children aretesui98989898989999 ted. They Key tests take Stage '16 : areas there Muslim, are Jewish and Sikh schools. InNorthern SATs) atages 7,1l and14.At theyusually take theGeneral Certificates . : r >0rlr€ (GCSEs) schools arecalled Integrated Schools.Theseschoolsaim to ofSecondary Education inseveral subjects, although some . - dren ofdifferent religionstogether. Information onfaithschools schools qualifications. people also offer other At18,young whohave your : ;:'efrom local (Advanced education just authority. stayed atschool doAGCEs G(Elevels) often called Alevels. nr*rendent schools

InWales, schools follow theWelsh National Curriculum buthave abolished national tests forchildren plans atage7and1l. There arealso inWales to stop testing children at14.Teachen inWales stillhave t0assess andreport pupils'progress ontheir and achievements at7and11.

-,- - :?ntschools areprivate schools. They arenotrunorpaid for ' ',:e.Independent secondary schools are also sometimes called 'tols. There are about 2,500 independent schools intheUK. ' . : ofchildren got0theseschools. parentsInScotland, Atindependentschools thecuniculum isdivided intotwophases. The fintphase is

. ,, :refullcost oftheir child's indeoendent from education. Some 5to14.There aresixlevels inthisphase, levels AtoF.Ihere areno ':r scholarships pay which groups some orallofthecosts ofthechild's tests forwhole during thistime. Teachen testindividual children '14 when people theyareready. From to16,young doSundard Grade. After 16theycanstudy atIntermediate, Higher level. In 0rAdvanced 1r rsssdtolcuniculum Scotland there willsoon beasingle cuniculum forallpupils fromage3to age18.This iscalled A(uniculum forExcellence. More information canbe ,, :' raryand secondaryschools inEngland,Walesand Northernfound atwww.acurricul umforexcellencescotland.qov.uk. - : ' -,r'theNational Cuniculum.Ihis covers English, maths, science, - :' r::chnology, (1(T), Help information andcommunication technology withEnglish .--rraphy modern foreign languages, artand design, music, (PE) , -r -.ation andcitizenship. InWales, children learn Welsh. lfyour child's main language isnotEnglish, theschool may arrange (English forextra language support fiomanEAL Additional Language) -ary schools inWales, ",' allthelessonsaretaught inWelsh. In soecialist teacher. , : : -rLls follow abroad cuniculum informed bynationalguidance. - -,: bylaw, (areers (RE) provide religious education toallpupils. education - : " : owed towithdraw their from children these lesons. RE -' : , : ; I h r i s t i a n b a s i s b u t c h i l d r e n a l s o l e a r All n achildren b o u get t t hcareers e o t advice h e r from theageof14.Advice isalso available ) people: fromConnexions, anational service foryoung telephone

InWales, or:www.connexions-direct.com inEngland. 08080013219 'l further Careen Wales offers tochildren from theageof 1. For advice 100900. information visit: www.careerswales.com ortelephone 0800

people withlowincomes ageof19.Young from families cangetfinancial withtheirstudies when help theyleave school at16.This iscalled the (EMA). Maintenance Allowance Information Education about thisis available atyour local college orat:www.dfes.gov.uk.

provides InScotland, Careers information, services andsupp0rt 5cotland visit: toallages and stages. For further information Further education colleges also offer courses toadults over theageof forpeople wishing in www.careers-scotland.org.uk ortelephone 0845 8502 502. 18.These include courses toimprove theirskills (English English. These arecalled ES0L forSpeakers courses of0ther Parents andschools There forEnglish whoneed Languages). arealso courses speakers to improve theirliteracy andnumeracy andforpeople whoneed tolearn parents Many withtheirchild's school. Anumber ofplaces newskills foremployment. E50L courses arealso incommunity areinvolved available governing governing forparents. The body centres andtraining centres. There issometimes listforE50L onaschool's body arereserved awaiting produces howtheschool isrunandadministered and reports 0n courses because ishigh. InEngland ES0L, literacy decides demand andWales, parents year oftheschool from t0year. InScotland, canbe andnumeracy courses arealso called Skills forLifecourses. You canget theprogres members orparent councils. information local college orlocal library on ofschool boards atyour orfromlearndirect 100900. 0800 Schools must beopen 190days ayear. dates aredecided bythe ;Term joinother governing people must body orbythelocal education authority. Children attend Many adult education classes t0learn anewskillor parents year. thewhole school expect andguardians toinform hobby andtomeet newpeople. Classes arevery varied from Schools andrange isgoing tobeabsent from school. Allschools tolearning instrument are them iftheir child ask sports amusical oranewlanguage. Details parents your ahome-school agreement. This isalistofthings that usually available from local library, college oradult education centre. tosign good parent guardian agree todotoensure a both theschool andthe or year Universig forthechild. Allparents receive areport every 0ntheir education progres. They have thechance togototheschool totalkto child's also young people gotouniversity goafter More nowthaninthepast. Many their child's teachers. (or grades posible Alevels Higher inScotland) atage18butit isalso to g0t0university Further education education most inEngland, Wales andadult later inlife.Atpresent, students fees andNorthern lreland have topaytowards thecost oftheir tuition (Higher andtopayfortheirliving people InScotland fees 0ntodoAlevels expenses. there aren0tuition At16,younq canleave school 0rstay young people go grades foruniversity. Some butafter students finish university theypayback some ofthecost oftheir inScotland) inpreparation (FE) grades payment present, in endowment. At further toimprove theirexam education a called an universities totheirlocal educationcollege year fortheirtuition fees, donot foracareer. Most courses arefreeupt0the cancharge upt0f3,000per butstudents 0rtogetnewqualifications

Leisure

Information : ' anything towards their fees before orduring their studies. ,'^rentpays their tuition fees andthen charges forthem when ' ):artsworking afteruniversity. Some families onlowincomes -. r withtheir children's fees. tuition This iscalled agrant. Ihe ' .' also give help, intheformofbursaries. get Most students 'i'eststudent loan from abank. Ihispays fortheir living costs '-., ereatuniversity.When astudentfinishes university andstarts -: pay . orshe must back theloan.

Information about theatre, cinema, music andexhibitions isfoundin localnewspapers, locallibraries information andtourist offices. Many museums andartgalleries arefree. Film, video andDVD Films intheUKhave asystem toshowiftheyaresuiftble forchildren. Thisiscalled theclassification system. lfachildisbelow theageofthe classification, theyshould notwatch thefilmatacinema oronDVD. All films receive classification, a asfollows: U(Universal): foranyone suitable 4years aged andover guidance): PG(parental partsofthefilm suitable foreveryone butsome might parents beunsuitable forchildren. Their should decide. 12or12a:children 12arenotallowed under toseeorrentthefilmuness they arewithanadult. 15:children under 15arenotallowed tosee 0rrent thefilm. 18:nooneunder'lB isallowed tosee 0rrent thefilm. Rl8:nooneunder'18 isallowed t0seethefilm,whichisonlyavailable in specially licensed cinemas.

Television andradio

andnight clubs Pubs

(TV), partofsocial To lifeintheUK. houses, orpubs, areanimportant intheUKwithatelevision DVD orvideo recorder, computer Public Anyone pub you not People 18are ina must be180rover. under TVprogrammes drink alcohol which isused forwatching orrecording oranydevice The either. tobuyalcohol inasupermarket orinanoff-licence licence covers allowed must becovered byavalid television licence. One allof people of14tocome intothepubbutti:, landlord ofthepubmay allow whorentdifferent rooms ina theequipment atoneaddress, butpeople witham:' At16,people candrink wine orbeer arenotallowed todrink. house licence. shared must each buy aseparate inahotel orrestaurant. (2006) lasts for 12 AcolourlV licence costs f131.50 and cunently tc thedayanduntil11pm.lfapubwants Pubs areusually open during People 75,orover forafree TVlicence. Blind months. aged canapply people licence. anc later, it must foraspecial Night clubs open riskprosecution$ayopen apply You canclaim a50%discount ontheirlVlicence. pubs. later than There close TVbutarenotcovered byaTVlicence. are andafineifyouwatch Pay Point many ways t0buyaTVlicence including fromlocal outlets or possible andgambling at:www.tvlicensing.co.uk. lt isalso topayforthelicence Betting on-line 5763763 orwrite to ininstalments. Formore information teleohone 0870 intobetting clubs People under 18arenotallowed shops orgambling IVLicensing, Bristol 8598 1IL. prizes, withlarge aremade There isaNational Lottery forwhich draws, People week. You bybuying aticket orascratch card. Sports, clubs andsocieties every canenter '1 ticket orscratch card. under6arenotallowed tobuyalottery local andsocieties canusually befound atlocal Information about clubs you Pets your about sports libraries orthrough local authority. Forinformation leisure centre. Libraries andleisure centres often should askinthelocal people pets thr ltisagainst Many intheUKhave such ascats anddogs. holidays. forchildren during theschool 0rganise activities places must ortoneglect it.Alldogs inpublic lawtotreat apetcruelly ) owner wear thename mdaddress oftheowner.Ihe Places ofinterest acollar showing upafter forkeeping thedogunder control andforcleaning responsible for Vaccinations andmedical treatment inaoublic inthecountryside. Many theanimal olace. The UKhas network ofpublic footpaths alarge (vets). lfyoucannot affc': parts fromveterinary surgeons animals areavailable arekept open bythe ofthecountryside andplaces ofinterest (People's Dispensa', called thePDSA important buildings t0payavet,youcang0t0acharity National Trust. This isacharity thatworks topreserve your visit: www.pdsa.org.uk Animals). Tofind nearest branch, National Trust buildings and forSick intheUK. Information about andcountryside public www.nationaltrust.org.uk 0pen t0the isavailable on: areas

a:velandtransport

drr buses andcoaches

-

Thedriving licence

-:tionab0ut roads. Togetadriving licence todriveonpublic adriving Rail Enquiry Service: Youmusthave telephone theNational trains you :: -19 where youmustpass schools driving atest.There aremany For trains inNorthern licence www.nationalrail.co.uk 50,orvisit. -:ne instructor. withthehelp ofaqualified canlearn www.translink.co.uk Translink on02B 90666630orvisit: . -,:lonabout For 0870 608250. local bus times ohone ' . oncoaches, B08080, National Expres on08705 telephone

, ,',!vnati0nalexpress.com inScotland, telephone Forcoaches For wwwcitylink.co.uk 505050orvisit: :,linkon08705 ': and, visit: www.translink.co.uk

getafulldriving stages: licence inthree You whileyouare Youneed thislicence licence. 1.Apply foraprovisional upt0 todrive amotorcycle learning todrive. Withthisyouareallowed plates plates put vehicle, D in Wales. onthe or Youmust L 125cc oracar. lfyoudriveacar,youmust drive0namotorway. Learner driven(annot

' .etsfortrains such astheL0nd0n systems andunderground forover whoisover21andwhohashadafulllicence youget0nthetrain. The fare varies bewithsomeone before --dmust bebought -, from licence years. formforaprovisional Youcangetanapplication three intherush Travelling totravel. . rhedayandtimeyouwish ', forfamilies, apostoffice. areavailable : r rsr1r0r€ Discount tickets expensive. people, under 26. andpeople students -.: 60andover; disabled ' ocal theory test. 2.Pass awritten may result buy a ticket fordetails. Failureto train station test. 3.Pass apradcaldriving thelicence s mayusetheirlicence untiltheyare70.Afterthat Drivers years forthree atatime. valid

a anddisplay must belicensed andminicabs .qally, alltaxis ': Taxis forfare-payinq withnolicence arenotinsured andcabs (for mustdisplay anR-Plate driver lreland, anewly-qualified notuse unlicensed InNorthern should safe.Women :rdarenotalwavs pasing thetest foroneyear after regi$ered driver)

:r!'r,:

licences Overseas (EU), Union intheEuropean licence isfromacountry amedium- lfyourdriving 18todrive 17todrive acarormotorcycle, : : atleast youcandriveintheUKforaslongas 0rNorway, lceland, Liechtenstein minibus or , ,rd21todrive drive alony, lonyorbus.Io alarge licence isvalid. pasenger youmust licence.your have aspecial seats, eight ,'ethan

Speed limits lfyouhave alicence fiomacountry youmay outside theEU, useit inthe For cars andmotorcycles thespeed limits are: UKforupto12months. During getaUKprovisional thistimeyoumust driving licence andpasboth theUKtheory andpractical (mph) driving perhour tests, or 30miles inbuilt-up areas, unless asign shows adifferent limit you willnotbeable todrive after 12months. 60mph onsingle caniageways 70mph onmotorways and dual caniageways Insurance Itisacriminal offence tohave proper acarwithout motor insurance. Drivers without insurance canreceive very highfines. lt isakoillegalto allow someone your touse carifthey arenotinsured todrive it. Road taxandMOT You payataxt0drive must your also carontheroads. This iscalled road tax.Your vehicle must have aroad taxdisc youhave paid. which shows You canbuythisatthepost office. lfyoudonotpaytheroad tax,your vehicle may beclamped ortowed away.

Speed limits arelower forbuses, lonies andcanpulling caravans. hisillegal youareover todrive when thealcohol police limitordrunk. The youandgive youatesttosee canstop you howmuch alcohol have in your body. This iscalled abreathalyser testlfadriver hasmore than the permitted (called amount ofalcohol beingbver thelimit')orrefuses to take thetest, heorshewillbeanested. People whodrink anddrive can expect tobedisqualified fiomdriving period. foralong Accidents

lfyou areinvolved inaroad accident: lfyour vehicle isover years three year old,youmust take itevery fora (M0T) Ministry ofTransport testYou garage. t dontdrive candothisatanapproved away without stopping-this isacriminal offence garage The youanMOT willgive your certificate when carpasses thetest. hisanoffence nottohave anMOT certificate. lfyoudonothave police anMOT . callthe andambulance 0n999 or112if someone isinjured your certificate, insurance willnotbevalid. @ o getthenames, addresses, vehicle registration numbers andinsurance 5afety details oftheother drivers (hildren Everyone inavehicle should wear r give aseat belt. under 12years your of details totheother drivers orpassengers andtothepolice agemay need aspecial booster seatMotorcyclists andtheirpasengers (thislawdoes must wear acrash helmet notapply toSikh men iftheyare I make anote ofeverything your thathappened andcontact insurance wearing aturban). lt isillegalto phone. drive while holding amobile company assoon asposible.

' ' rouadmit your theaccident was fault, theinsurance company ' : topay. ltisbettertowait until theinsurancecompanydecides ' ^rsefault theaccident was. ar':, documents ' -Kcitizens (lD) donothaveto cany identity cards.Ihe '-: s,however, plans making inthenext tointroducethem

-:!'r,: iouridentity j ,?t0prove your identity you atdifferent times, such aswhen . 3r(ount, rentaccommodation, enr0l foracollege hire course, '-, , benefits such ashousing foramaniage benefit, orapply ferent organisations may askfordifferent documents as ''-: tyThese can include: yourimmigration ..lments fromtheHome Office showing

,::ofidentity ': lr travel dOcument (Nl)number : rsurance card -:l orfulldriving licence yourname -,,, electricity orphone billshowing andaddres :.refits book.

ChAPtCr6: EMPLOYMENT Looking forwork

lnthischapter isinformationlfyouarelooking there yourjob, forwork,oryouarethinking ofchanging ADOUT:

youcanfindoutabout there areanumber ofways workopportunities. provides guidance TheHome Office onwhoisallowed toworkintheUK.

* Looking forwork andapplying Noteveryone people intheUKisallowed toworkandsome need work forjobs permits, yourstatus s0it isimportant tocheck before taking upwork. Also, employers have tocheck thatanyone theyemploy islegally entitled

* Training and volunteering toworkintheUK.Formoreinformation andguidance, seetheHome Offi cewebsite'Working intheUK'-www.workingintheuk.gov.uk

c Equal rights anddixrimination Jobs areusually advertised inlocalandnational newspapen, atthelocal

* Rights responsibilities and at Jobcentre andinemployment aqencies. You canfindtheaddress and work telephone number ofyour local Plus Jobcentre under Jobcentre inthe

jobcentreplus.gov.uk phone jobs book orsee: www Sone are advertised . Working foryourself onsupermarket notice boards and inshop windows. ihese are lobs part-ilme quite usually partkular lfthere and thewaqes arcoften low. are (hildare * and thildren atwork clmpantes yluwluldlike towlrkflr,yluan l00k f0(vacanctes on

iletwelrtes Jobcentre Plus isrunbyagovernment departmenr_the Deparfmenr ro, Work andPensions. Irained staffgive advice andhelpinfinding and applying forjobs aswelldaiming benefits. They canalso arrange for interpreters. Their website www.jobcentreprus.gov.uk rists vacancres and training opportunities gives and general information onbenefits. There is also alowcost telephone serviceJobseeker Direct, 0g45 60602i4.This is open 9a.m. to 6.p.m. onweekdays and9a.m. p.m. to1 onSaturdays. Qualifications Applicants jobs forsome need special training 0rqualifications. lfyouhave qualifications from another youcanfindouthow country, theycompare withqualifications intheUKattheNational Academic Recogniti0n Information (NARIC), Centre www.naric.or0.uk

Forfurther information contact UKNARlt, ECflIS Ltd, 0rielHouse, (heltenham Road, Oriel Glos, GL50 1XB telephone:0870 9904088, email: [email protected]

youareapplying When forajobandduring theintervieq it isimportan: your qualifications tobehonest about lat. andexperience. lfanemployer finds youmight yourjob. outthatyougave inconect information, lose

Applications

(riminalrecord

jobscanoften paid Interviews forlower andlocal beananged by jobsyouneed telephone orinpenon. Formany tofillinanapplication (CV) formorsend acopy ofyour cuniculum vitae withacovering letter or letter ofaoolication.

jobs, particularly For some ifthework involves working withchildren people, permission orvulnerable theemployer willask foryour todo acriminal record You cangetmore check. information 0nthisfrom the (GB) Home Records 0ffice Criminal Bureau information line, telephone 0870 9090811.InScotland, contact Disclosure Scotland: www.disclosurescotland.c0.uk Heloline: 0870 609 6006.

Acovering letter isusually ashort letter attached toacompleted gives application form, while aletter ofapplication more detailed job you information why on areapplying forthe andwhyyouthink (Vgives youaresuitable. Your specific details onyour education, qualifications, previous employment, skills andinterests. lt isimportant (V processor t0typeanyletten andyour onacomputer 0rword asthis your improves chance called foraninterview ofbeing

Training

people Taking helps uptraining improve theirqualifications forwork. Some training may beoffered atwork oryoucandocourses fromhome oratyour local This includes college. English language You training. can getmore your information from local library andcollege orfromwebsitt Employers often ask forthenames andaddresses ofoneortworeferees. such aswww.worktrain.gov.uk andwww.learndirect.co.uk. Learndire(l These arepeople such asyour current orprevious employer orcollege offers arange ofonline training courses atcentres across thecountry. youwellandt0agree tutor. Referees need toknow t0writeashort report Ihere arecharges forcourses butyoucandofree starter ortaster sessio'orreference onyour suitability forthejob.Personal friends get ormembers of You can more information frOhtheir lir. freeinformation andadvice your family notnormally are acceptable asreferees. 0800 100900. lnterviews

Volunteering andwork experience

give Injobdescriptions people andinterviews, fulldetails employers should of Some work dovoluntary andthiscanbeagood wayt0support what thejobinvolves, including thepay, holidays andworking conditions.your local community andorganisations which : depend onvolunteers jobapplicatio", lfyouneed more information youcanaskquestions provides about anyofthese, in also useful experience withfuture thatcanhelp questions you Your theinterview. Infact, asking some intheinterview shows local library willhave information about volunteering opportunrtie: your interested are and can improve chance ofgetting thejob.

Equal rights anddiscrimination

getinformation You canalso from websites such as. andadvice www.do-it.org.uk www.volunteering.org.uk andwww.justdosomething.net Itisagainst thelawforemployers todiscriminate against s0me0ne at person work. Ihismeans thata should notberefused work,training or promotion ortreated lesfavourably because oftheir: ;:.sex = nationality, group race, colour orethnic = disabiliry = religion = sexual orientation € age. InNorthern lreland, bans discrimination ongrounds ot thelawalso religious belief orpoliticl opini0n. job,orwork Ihelawalsosays thatmenandwomen whodothesame pay.Almost value, receive allthelawsprotecting ofequal should equal j0bs. people atworkapply equally topeople doingpart{ime0rfull-time Ihereare,however, discrimination lawsdo asmallnumber ofjobswhere notapply. Forexample, isnotagainst discrimination thelawwhenthejob involves working forsomeone intheir ownhome. Youcangetmore information thelawandracial discrimination about TheEqual 0pportunities from the(ommission forRacial Equality. issues andtheDisability Commission canhelpwithsexdiscrimination

Rights Commission with disabiliry isues. deals Each ofthese organisations offers advice insome andinformation andcan, cases, support individuals. From 0ctober 2007 theirfunctions willbebrought together inanewCommission forEquality andHuman Rights. You can getmore protecting people information thelaws about atwork from the Advice Citizens Bureau website: www.adviceguide.org.uk (ommission provides InNorthern lreland, theEquality information and inrespect advice ofallforms ofunlawful discrimination. The Commission forRacial House, Equality,5t Dunstans -2 201 11Borough HighStreet, 11Gl,telephone: London, SE 7939 020 000, fax:020 7939 www.cre.gov.uk 0001,

youfeel comments about thewayyoulookthatmake uncomfortable orhumiliated

'-=comments your orquestions about life sex = inappropriate touching orsexual demands =.= bullying behaviour orbeing inawaythatisrude, treated hostile, degrading orhumiliating because ofyour sex

Men andwomen canbevictims ofsexual harassment atwork. lfthrs happens toyou, tellafriend, colleague ortrade union representative a': youtostop. asktheperson harassing lt isagood idea tokeep awritte. record ofwhathappened, thedays when andtimes it happened and,,,(entre, IheEqual 0pportunities Arndale House, Commision, Arndale else may have seen theharassment. orheard lftheproblem continues Manchester M43EQ telephone: 0845 6015901, fax:0'161 838831 2, report theperson t0your employer ortrade union. Employers are www.eoc.org.uk responsible forthebehaviour oftheiremployees while they areatwor, They should treat complaints ofsexual harasment very seriously and (ommision, The Disability Rights DR(Helpline, FREEPOST M1D02164, take effective action withtheproblem. lfyouarenotsatisfied v," todeal (V37 Stratford Avon 9BR, upon telephone: 0845/ 6i3, your 622 youcanaskforadvice employer's response, andsupport from the (ommision, fax: 08457 778878,www.drc.org.uk your Equal 0pportunities trade union orthe[itizens Advir. Bureau. The Equality [ommission forNorthern lreland, Equality House, /-9Shaftesbury Square, Belfast BI27Dftelephone:028 90500600, www.equalityni.org Sexual harassment harassment Sexual can take different forms. This includes: indecent remarks

.ttwork

,rployers andemployees have legal responsibilities atwork. ,:rshave topayemployees fortheworkthattheydo,treatthem ,- Jtakeresponsible care fortheirhealth andsafety. Employees rotheir work withreasonable skill andcare andfollow all ': einstructions. They should notdamage their employer's

. r-1€frcontract 0rstatement

Employers whopaytheirworken less thanthisarebreaking thelaw.You cangetmore information fromtheCentral 0fficeofInformation Directgov website, www.direct.gov.uk which has awide range ofpublic service information. youcantelephone Alternatively, theNational Minimum Wage Helpline, telephone:0845 6000678. Your contract 0rstatement willshow youare thenumber ofhours expected towork. Your employer miqhtaskyouifyoucanworkmore hours than thisanditrsyour decision whether ornotyoudo.Your employer youtoworkmore cannot require hours thanthehours aqreed 0nyour contract.

' '.I months job, your ofstarting give anew you employer should ' .0ntract 0rstatement withallthedetails andconditions for . Ihisshould pay, includeyour responsibilities, working hours, pay pension. , :k and ltshould include also theperiod ofnotice lfyouneed tobeabsent fromwork,forexample ifyouareilloryouhave '- , :uandyour give employer should fortheemployment t0end amedical appointment, it isimportant t0tellyouremployer ass00n as '.t orwritten statement isanimportant document andisvery youcaninadvance. Mostemployees whoare160roverareentitled t0at '-.'eisever adisagreement your pay about work, orconditions.least paidholiday fourweeks, yearThisincludes every timefornationa (see holidays chapter 3).Your employer mustgiveyouapayslrp,ora similar written statement, each timeyouarepaid. Thismustshowexacr , howmuch money has been taken offfortax andnational insurance youandyour , rreed between employer There isaminimum c0ntributi0ns. person . -:Kthatrsalegal right forevery employed above . ,rhool leaving age. The compulsory school leaving ageis16, Tax yearwhen . r theschool 16-year-olds canleaveschool in ; ,r,/ales isdifferent from thatinScotland andNorthern lreland Formostpeople, taxisautomatirally taken fromtherrearnings bythe

: r ',rJr's andholidays

-:r'ent minlmum wage rates fordifferent agegroups. From rates : :he are asfollows: - f5.35 .'', aged 22and above anhour - f4.45 , ,ear olds anhour -

- f3.30 ,ear olds anhour

employer andpaiddirectly toHMRevenue and[ustoms, thegovernment department responsible forcollectinq taxes. lfyouareseltemployed, you need topayyourowntax(see page 82).Money raised fromincome tax pays forgovernment services police such asroads, educatron, andthe armed forces. 0aasionally HMRevenue and[ustoms sends outtaxreturn forms whichaskforfullfinancial details. lfyoureceive one,it isimportant tocomplete it andreturn theformass00n asposible. Youcn gethelp andadvice fromtheHMRevenue and[ustoms self-assessment helpline, on:0845 3004555.

National Insurance Almost everybody intheUKwhoisinpaid work, youcarincluding self-employed information about registering foraNational Insurance number, (Nl)contributions. people, payNational must Insurance Money raised telephone theNational Insurance Registrations Helpline on fromNlcontributions isused topaycontributory benefits such asthe 0845 9157006 or0845 9155670. State Retirement Pension andhelps fundtheNational Health 5ervice. Employees have theirNlcontributions deducted from theirpaybytheir Pensions employer every week ormonth. People whoareself-employed need to payNlcontributions themselves: Class 2contributions, either bydirect intheUKwhohaspaid Everyone enough National Insurance ,contribur (las debit orevery three months and 4contributions ontheprofits willgetaState Pension when theyretire. IheState Pension forme' age from their trade orbusiness. Clas4contributions yean arepaid alongside currently women 65 ofage andfor it is60,buttheState Pension . -' theirincome tax.Anyone whodoes notpayenough Nlcontributions will forwomen willincrease You c,to65instages between 20'10 and2020. notbeable t0receive certain benefits, such asJobseeker's Allowance or findfulldetails Pension :. oftheState scheme ontheState Pension webs pension. Maternity Pay, andmay notreceive afullstate retirement www.thepensionservice.gov.uk oryoucanphone thePension Service Helpline:0845 6060265. Getting aNational Insurance number people Inaddition toaState Pension, many also receive apension thro--' people Just before their16th payintoapersonal pension birthday, allyoung intheUKaresent plan a their work andsome also too.ltisver, penon National Insurance number.Ihis isaunique pensions. number foreach andit important togetgood advice about The Pensions Advisory tracks their National Insurance gives c0ntributi0ns. Service free andconfidential advice onoccupational andpersona pensions. Their helpline telephone number is0845 6012923 andtherr Refugees whose asylum have applications been succesful have thesame website address iswww.opas.org.uk. Independent financial advisen ca" rights towork asanyother UKcitizen andtoreceive Insurance also give aNational You advice butyouusually have topayafeeforthisservice. ca' number. People whohave applied forasylum notreceived andhave a findlocal guic. financial intheYellow Pages advisen and Thomson local positive permission decision donotusually have towork andsodonot 0r0ntheinternet atwww.unbiased.c&uk getaNational Insurance number. Health andsafety youstart You need aNational Insurance number when work. lfyoudo youcanapply nothave aNational Insurance number, foronethrough Employen have alegal issafe. dutytomake sure theworkplace Jobcentre Plus oryour local Social Security 0ffice. lt isagood idea tomake Employees also have alegal dutytofollow regulations safety andtowo'. youneed anappointment bytelephone andaskwhich documents totake safely andresponsibly. lfyouarewonied about health andsafety atyou. pasport your withyou. You usually need toshow birthcertificate, and workplace, talktoyour supervisor, manager representati\. ortrade union you procedures Home 0ffice documents in your allowing t0stay thecountry. lfyouneed You need not tofollow theright and employer must you youunfairly forraising dismiss ortreat aconcern.

'-:de unions thepayandworking , :. .lnions thataimt0improve areorganisations give They theirmembers advice and : : onsoftheirmembers. also join whether You canchoose to atrade atwork. i : -10nproblems - ornotandyour youunfairly you cannot or treat employer dismiss :. rqaunion member. to unions intheUK, thebenefits theyoffer ,nfinddetails oftrade , - tersanduseful lrades information atwork onthe Union onrights (TUC) www.tuc.org.uk website, :'ess

in which specialises This isacourt toanEmploymentlribunal. three months t0make matters. You normally onlyhave employment acomplaint. job,it isimportant your togetadvice lfyouaredismissed from on your asposible. You canask foradvice andinformation case ass00n fiomyour trade legal rights totake union onyour andthebest action Advice representative, ortheCitizen3 Bureau. asolicitor, aLaw Centre Redundancy

-':blems atwork yourjob youwork fornolonger needs lfyoulose because thecompany ' - have job,orcannot you, youmay toemploy be problems afford someone todoyour ofany kind atwork, speak toyour supervisor, ' :-:qer, pay. youreceive The ofmoney depends t0redundancy amount withresponsibilityentitled representative 0rsome0ne else trade union your youhave employed. Again trade union oftime been itisagood idea , , ,1fl lfyouneed totake anyaction, toget 0nthelength dsposible. (entre (itizens Advice Bureau can your asolicitor, aLaw orthe will representative, , :, .: first.lfyouareamember representative ofaradeunion, '- : /0ucanalso (GB) you. your Advice Bureau orLaw advise contact local Citizens ':'e The (A[AS) Service national Advisory, Conciliation andArbitration -: i te,www.acas.org.uk gives rights atwork. ACAS Unemployment information onyour 474747. helpline, telephone: 08457 , rffers anational people Allowance Jobseeker's Most whobecome unemployed canclaim (JSA).Ihis jobandunfair 18-65 andwomen aged iscunently available formen aged your dismissal --'sing forwork andtrying 18-60 whoarecapable available ofworking, , ' :.nployee may notbeeligible for 16andl7-year-olds tofindwork. Unemployed misconduct at immediately forserious canbedismised '1.Anyone aYoung Penon's Bridging properly, Allowance butmay beable toclaim lateor Jobseeker's whocannot d0theirjob orisunacceptably (YPBA) Plus can help with claims. instead. The local Jobcentre given Allowance lf warning their employer, their :: :ntfrom work, should be a by '<, '. punctuality Advice Bureau andthe information from theCtizens cangetfurther cangive You notimprove, theemployer orattendance does '-.-rnotice website: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk Jobcentre Plus toleave theirjob. ' . aqainst from work todismiss someone unfairly. thelawforemployers -'- shappens you you you, feel or life at work is made so difficult that to ' , ,: toleave, your youmay ifyoutake case beable togetcompensation

)0e

a

Working foryourself

New Deal

Tax

programme New Deal isagovernment thataims togive unemployed Self-employed people areresponsible forpaying theirowntaxand people people National thehelp andsupport theyneed togetintowork. Young Insurance. They have tokeep detailed records ofwhat they whohave been unemployed for6months andadults whohave been earn andspend onthebusiness andsend theirbusiness accounts t0 unemployed for18months areusually required tojoinNew Deal ifthey HMRevenue year. people andCustoms every Most self-employed use wish tocontinue receiving benefit. There New aredifferent Deal schemes anaccountant t0make sure theypaythecorrect taxandclaim allthe fordifferent agegroups. You canfindoutmore about New Deal on oossible taxallowances. 0845 606 2626 or:www.newdeal.qov.uk Assoon youshould asyoubecome younelf self-employed register for government (ustoms The programmes also runs work-based learning which offer taxandNational Insurance byringing theHMRevenue and training t0people while theyareatwork. People receive people awage 0ran telephone helpline for whoareself-employed, on0845 91545': allowance and can attend college forone day aweek togeta qualification. new Help andadvice You government canfindoutmore about thedifferent schemet andthe Banks cangive information andadvice onsetting upyour ownbusiness schemes inyour area, fiomJobcentre Plus, www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk, or andoffer start-up loans, which need toberepaid withinterest. local Citizens Advice Bureau. vour grants Government financial andother support may beavailable. You ca' getdetails 0fthese andadvice onbecoming self-employed fromBusrne , project Link, agovernment-funded forpeople starting 0rrunning a business-www.businesslink.gov.uk telephone: 0845 600 9006. Working inEurope (anwork British citizens inanycouffiy thatisamember oftheEuropea" (EEA). Economic Area Ingeneral, theyhave thesame employment righr: asacitizen ofthat country orstate.

Childcare andchildren atwork

New mothen andfathers Women whoareexpecting have right totimeoffwork ababy alegal forantenatal They entitled 26weekl maternity care. arealso t0atleast leave. These rights apply workers andit makes tofull-time andpart{ime lt is, nodifference howlong thewoman has worked forheremployer. procedures however, important tofollow thecorrect andtogive the employer enough notice taking maternity leave. Some women may about paybutthisdepends also beentitled t0maternity onhowlongtheyhave working fortheir been employer. Fathers whohave worked fortheiremployer foratleast 26weeks are provides entitled t0paternity leave, which uptotwoweeks'time off pay, fromwork, with when isborn. hlsimportant totellyour thechild employer wellinadvance. You andmore information onmaternity andpaternity cangetadvice your matten from thepersonnel officer atwork, trade union (itizens your representative, Advice Advice local Bureau, theCitizens website Bureau website www.adviceguide.org.uk orthegovernment www.direct.gov.uk

, forsome authorities allow this. There areexceptions types ofperfor' younger work(including modelling) when children may beallowe: (16) r,'. work. Anychild leaving age seeking underschool todopaid (hildren p;" must apply foralicence from thelocal authority. taking may have :''insome kinds ofperformances t0obtain amedical certif working. before i' : Bylaw,children under 16can onlydolightwork.Thereareparticu include milk, s. . . thatchildren arenotallowed todo.These delivering working alcohol, cigarettes ormedicines, inakitchen orbehind the ., working withdangerous machinery orcherr counter 0fachip shop, kind thatmay beharmful health 0r€c- :' doing any other ofwork totheir -: The lawsets outclear limits fortheworking houn times forl3 ,-, and . ,-, Every must have atleast twoconsecutive weeks oldchildren. child n :'. when theydonotwork. during theschool holidays Iheycannot * formore without hour rest than 4hours aone break e formore school than 2hours onany day oraSunday

Childcare € morethan (13-l4yearolds) (15-15 ,.' five hours oreight hours (orweekdays policy onSaturdays firingschool holidays) ItisGovernment tohelppeople withchildcare responsibilities olds) withthis. The totake upwork. Some employen canhelp Childcarelink gives 7.00am 7.00pm website www.childcarelink.gov.uk information about different types € before orafter ofchildcare andregistered childminders inyour area, ortelephone * before inareas local by.,' theclose ofschool houn(except where 08000 960296. hour allow children towork one before school). Hours andtimeforchildren atwork * formore week than 12houn inany school IntheUKthere arestrict laws t0protect children fromexploitation and (13-l4yearolds) € formorethan week a,',-. 25hoursa or35hou6 notgetinthewayoftheir education. The tomake sure thatwork does (15-16 year school holidays. notalllocal olds) during legal todopaid workis13,although earliest ageforchildren

,l6. j: 0nal minimum waqe forthose under '-0ntymaywithdraw achildtlicence towork,forexample : ,vorks longer hou6 than thelawallows.Ihe child would : et0cOntinue t0work.Anemployer maybeprosecuted .- ploying achild. Aparent 0rcarer whomakes afalse - achild's licence application canalsobeprosecuted. Ihey .''osecuted iftheydonotensure theirchildreceives aproper , canfindmore information ontheIUC website, - art.org.uk

(hAPtCrT: KNOWING THELAW Therights andduties ofacitizen

Thelaw Inthischapter thereisinformation Every person intheUKhastherighttoequal treatment under thelaw. about: Thelawapplies inthesame wayt0everyone-regardless ofwhotheyare orwhere theyarefrom. * The police < (rime andthelaw * (riminalcourts

Ihelawcanbedivided intocriminal andcivillaw.Criminal lawrelares t0crimes, which areusually investigated bythepolice orsome other authority andarepunished bythecourts. tivillawisused rosetrle disputes between individuals 0rgroups.

= Human rights

IntheUKit isacriminal offence tocanyaweapon such asagunorknife 0ranything thatismade oradapted tocause rnjury tosomeone, evenif it

* Maniage anddivorce

isforself-defence.

* (hildren people andyoung

Reporting acrime

€ (onsumer protection

Inanemergency, orifyouarethevictimofacrime oryouseeacrime place, taking dial999or112.Theoperator willaskyouwhichservice you need-police, fire,ambulance or,bythecoast, thecoastguard. you Then need toexplain whythepolice areneeded andwhere theyneed togo. lfthesituation isNOT anemergenry, youianeither gotoyourlocalpolice station 0rtelephone them. Youcanfindthetelephone number under 'Police'in thephone book. Some'mino/crimes canbereported online 5ee www.online.police.uk fordetails. Racially andreligiously motivated crime lntheUKit isacriminal offence touseabusive orinsulting words rn public because ofsomeone's religion orethnic origin.Anyone whocauses harassment, alarm ordistress t0otherpe0ple because oftherrreligion or ethnic origin canbeprose(uted given penalties and strong bythecourts. lfyouarethevictimofreligious orracially motivated crime, it isimportant

lfthepolice ever stopyou prevent i' -. anddetect You areexpected tohelp thepolice action. canask Allgood citizens thist0thepolice andtheyhave adutytotake t0report or' ':' ofthepublic Ihepolice canstop anymember home else. whenever theycan. foraninterview atthepolice station, atyour orsomewhere tota.. committed orisabout inconnection withacrime thathasbeen place. people get in vehicle at any time. Equality They can stop a information fiomtheRace Council You can further andadvice your local Advice Bureau. orfrom Citizens give your youshould narr. theofficer lfyouarestopped bythepolice questions, t0answer anymore althouc' You d0notneed andaddress. Police duties people who for name ofthe officer stopp=: do. You can ask the usually you, heorsheisbased and:" station where andquestioned thepolice The rob oftheoolice intheUK isto: whyyouhave been stopped. reason protect property lifeand quest police ,more station toanswer The canaskyoutogotoapolice .,.prevent go.lfyougotoapolicestation (known volur:'', whetherto andyoucanchoose askeeping thepeace) disturbances youwant ruc:' youareentitled t0.lfyouareobsnuctive, t0leave when yourisk * orevent thepolice, being anested. decide tomislead and detect crime help everyone. Search Ihepolice force isapublic service andshould andprotect police the for You not reporting a crime or asking should beafraid of ' police anyone they thinkmight beinvolved The canstop andsearch notmisuse their help. Police officers must obey thelawandtheymust ' ofi' ::, burglary orpossession This includes offences such astheft, crime. racial make statement, berude, abusive orcommit authority, afalse Iheycar' : forcommitting criminal damage. orthings tobeused numbers offcers whoareconupt drugs Ihevery small ofpolice discrimination. penon they punished. thevehicle ofthe stop. search severely ormisuse their authority are q:

andsearch anybuildinq thepower t0enter Police officers donothave (tha: abuilding iftheyhave awarrant buttheycanenter theychoose, permision inScotland 0rt0arrej: fromamagistrate, aSheriff), special Tomake thepolice. a Anyone canmake anofficial complaint against disturbance ordamage. serious someone, t0save alifeortoprevent youcang0t0apolice theChief toeither station orwrite complaint, you, whohas thepoli. stopped canaskforthename oftheofficer Police Complaints You forthatpolice force ortheIndependent [onstable (inNorthern fortheir search. isbased and thereason where heorshe lfit isaserious station lreland, thePolice 0mbudsman). [ommission Advice it isagood idea tospeak toasolicitor ortothe[itizens matter, first. Bureau

Complaints

Arrest lfyouareanested andtaken toapolice station, willtell apollce officer you thereason foryour arrest.

This caution means thatthepolice cannot force aperson t0answer questions. questions notanswer Butifasuspect does atthepolice station, orincourt, thiscanbeused him her. The asevidence against or caution provide also fyouhave inunderstanding difficulty English, thepolice should states thatanything ape60n does say toapolice officer canalso be aninterpreter unless they thinkadelay infinding aninterpreter might used asevidence incourt. result inserious harm toaperson 0rproperty. The dutysolicitor police person The normally should onlyinterview ayoung under theage rf 17iftheirparent oran'appropriate Ihiscould Anyone whohasbeen station voluntarily adulfispresent. bea anested orgoes toapolice worker, friend isentitled anadult orateacher. t0legal advice inprivate. This canbewithasolicitor oftheir 'ocial choice orthedutysolicitor. Duty solicitors work forlocal firms that Information andadvice specialise incriminal lawandoffer afree consultation. Usually theadvice isgiven inperson butsometimes it may begiven over thetelephone. youaregiven ordeuined atapolice station, written 'youareanested jetails questioned important legal rights: lfyouhave about offence, ofthree been anested, orarebeing aserious you your position, you have or feelunsure about legal therightnotto (except questiOns your I therightto asolicitor togive name andaddres) untilyouhave answer see spoken toasolicitor. 2 theright amessage toafriend oramember ofyour family, tosend you where There aresome thecourt system inEngland and telling them are differences between lreland. Wales and thesystem inScotland and Northern thatthepolice 3 theright tolook atthecodes ofpractice-guidelines ar: Magistrates'and courts should follow when searching forand collecting evidence district -riswritennote police given includes also theofficial caution toall ,Jspects: 'tudonothave tosay anythinE. questioned, your ifyoudonotmention, when : Ltit may harm defence you later irmething which rely onincourt. :rything you may inevidence. dosay begiven

minor InEngland, Wales lreland most criminal cases are andNorthern go InScotland, minor criminal offences dealt withinamagistrates'court. toadistrict court.

Criminalcourts

Civilcourts

County courts

Magistrates, also known ofthePeace, hear less i' asJustices serious cases in Mosttownsandcitieshave acounty courtt0dealwlthawiderange people magistrateland district They aremembers ofthelocal include m0ney courts. community.civildisputes. These tryingt0getback thatis0,',. penonal InEngland and Wales theyusually work unpaid andhave nolegal t0them,cases involving injury, familymatten, of breaches qualifications, although theydoreceive training. InNorthern lreland, cases contract InScotland, allofthese matten anddivorce. aredealtwithrr 'heard magistrates. are only bypaid sheriff court. Crown courts andsheriff courts

procedure Thesmall claims

procedure people nEngland, Wales lreland, andNorthern serious offences aretriedinfront Ihesmallclaims isaninformal wayofhelping to judge jury InScotland, ofa anda inafrowncourt. serious areheard settleminordisputes without spending usinc cases alotoftimeandmoney jury. jury procedure rnasheriff court witheithera sheriff orasheriff witha A This isusually forclaims solicitor used oflesthanf 5,000-- . ismade upofmembers from room ofthepublic chosen atrandom thelocal hearing isheldinanordinary withajudgeandpeople frombot" (see register electoral [hapter 4).InEngland, Wales andNorthern lreland sides tl'. ofthedispute sittingaround auble.Youcangetdetails about procedure ajuryhasl2 members, ajuryhas15members. Everyonesmallclaims fromyourlocalcounty loca andinScotland court(inScotland (ourts jury whoissummoned must islisted todo service doitunlestheyarenot sheriffcourt), which under inthephone book. provide forexample iftheywork inlawenforcement,0rthey eligible, jurydecides reason agood tobeexcused, such asillhealth. The onthe isinnocent verdict, thatiswhether thedefendant 0rguilty, andifthe verdict isguilty thejudge decides onthepenalty.

Youth court penon isnormally lfanaccused is17years old0ryounger, theircase heard inayouth court infront ofuptothree specially trained magistrates judge. 0radistrlct The most serious cases willgotoaCrown court. parents person The oftheyoung areexpected thehearing. toattend Memben ofthepublic inyouth courts andneither the arenotallowed pe60n name northephotograph in oftheyoung canbepublished newspaper media. In is a orused bythe Scotland there unique system lreland nowhasa called thethildren's Hearings System, andNorthern system based 0n'y0uth conferencingl

Legal advice andaid

Solicitors jolicit06 aretrained lawyers whogive advice onlegal matten, take action solicitor t0taking acase asnowin,nofee, asthere areoften hidden costs clients andrepresent theirclients 'ortheir incourt. Ihere aresolicitors' such aspaying thecosts oftheother side. rffices throughout theUK. lt isimportant t0findoutwhich aspects oflaw : solicitor specialises inandtocheck thattheyhave therightexperience LawCentres youwithyour :ohelp case. papers Many advertise inlocal andthe Pages, andthefitizens Advice younames Bureau cangive oflocal Most large cities have oneormore Law Centres staffed byqualified "ellow ;olicitors andwhich areas oflawtheyspecialise in.You getthis canalso lawyers. They cangivelegal advice andposibly take onacase. Tofind (telephone: nformation from theLaw Society 02012421222, theaddres youcantelephone ofyour nearest centre, theLaw Centres ,vww.solicitors-online.com) and theCommunity Legal Service Federation on020 7387 8570 orvisit: www.lawcentres.oro.uk teleph0ne: 4345, 0845 345 www.clsdirect.orq.uk). Other advice andinformation (osts -ir, I .;'..,.1 There isa(itizens Advice Bureau inmost towns andcities Soliciton'charges areusually based onhowmuch timetheyspend ona andconfidential adviceon manydifferent types oflegaprote-, --: :ase. Itisvery important t0findoutatthestart h0wmuch acase islikely website gives also awiderange glish, ofinformation inEn !\,esi,r:- :. youare tocost and whether eligible forlegal aid. Chinese, Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu: www.adviceguide org.uk Financial help orlegalaid

Just ask!

Anyone whoisquestioned orcharged inconnection withacrime rsentitled (see tofree advice fromadutysolicitor above) andfree representati0n byasolicitor fortheir fintappearance incourt. ltmay also bepossible togethelp withcosts foranyfurther appearances incourt, although thisdepends onthetypeofcase andtheincome andsavinqs of give theclient. Asolicitor can information and advice onthis.

www.clsdirect.org.uk isthewebsite oftheCommunity Legal Service anditgives information questions onawiderange oflegal inseven languages. give ltcanalso youdetails oflocal soliciton andplaces togo foradvice your in area. For teenagers

give Solicitors canalso information onschemes tocover thecost 0fa solicitor's help, butnotalltypes ofcase arecovered bythese schemes and thehelp available also depends ontheincome andsavings oftheclient. paid 5ometimes thecosts are bytheclient ona'nowin,nofee'basis. In nowin,nofeecases, thesolicitor onlycharges theclient iftheywinthe case. lt isimportant tocheck allthepossible costs before agreeing toa

(itizen's The Young Pasport guide isapractical toeveryday lawwritten '14 especially fortheneeds people ofyoung produced aged to19.lt is by the(itizenship Foundation andthere arethree different editions: England andWales, Scotland andNorthern lreland. You canorder acopy through a local bookshop ortelephone thepublishers, Hodder Munay, on 0207837 6372.

Human rights

Victims ofcrime

TheHuman Rights Act

Anyone whoisthevictimofaviolent crime canapply tothe[riminal (ompensation Injuries forcompensation Authority fortheirinjuries.

AllUKcourts mustfollowtheprinciples oftheEuropean [onvention

The crime has t0bereported t0thepolice asquickly asposible and forcompensation must within twoyears theapplication bemade

Riqhts. These rights aresetoutinBritish lawintheHuman onHuman in Public Rights Act1998 andapply toeveryonetheUK. bodies such as thepolice, schools andhospitals have toworkinawaythatfollows the

ofthecrime. Youcanfindmore information Injuries ontheCriminal

Rights Human Acl

[ompensatron Authority website: www.cica.gov.uk general There ismore information Rights Actonthe ontheHuman Victims fromVictim ofcrime canalsogetfreehelpandguidance Support Department ofConstituti0nal Affain website: Youcanfindtheirtelephone number inthelocalphone book, ringtheir www.dca.gov.u k/peoplesrig hts/huma n-rights/index. htm national helpline website: on8453030900org0t0their www.\/ictimsupport.com

InNorthern lreland there isaHuman Rights Commission, whichis whether Northern lreland needs itsownadditional human considering rights law.lt alsoworks withitscounterpart intheRepublic oflreland withtheaimofachieving common standards inbothparts oftheisland Equal opportunities Formore than30years thelawintheUKhasbeen t0tryand developed make sure thatpeople arenottreated unfairly inallareas oflifeandwort because oftheirsex,race, disability, sexuality orreligion. In2006unfarr agediscrimination atwork also became unlawful. youcangetmore lfyoufaceproblems withdiscrimimtion, information (itizens from the Advice Bureau orfrom oneofthefollowing organisations: (ommission - www.cre.gov.uk The forRacial Equality - wwweoc.org.uk TheEqual 0pp0rtunities Commision - www.drc.org.uk The Rights Disability Commision r. (Ihese three willbebrought together intheCommission organisations Rights from 200/). Equality andHuman Oaober

(ommission - www.equalityni.org TheEquality forNorthern lreland further information see chapter For ondiscrimination atwork, 6. Military service IntheUKthere has nocompulsory military service been since'1960. Marriage partner ln0rder t0marry, each must be16yean oldorolder, and unmarried. Anyone whois16or17andwants togetmarried needs permission parents. written from relatives therr Close blood arenot allowed tomany each although cousins areallowed tomany. other Noonecanbeforced togetmanied regardless ofhowstrong thewishes family may whohave tomany oftheir be.(ouples agreed usually Inthepastanengaqement wasseen announce theirengagement. asa itisnot. legal contract butthese days

intheChurch Iheprocedure formaniages ofEngland isslightly differen: isthepublication Thetraditional method used bymostcouples ofbann ' by whichtakes thesame timeasthecivilmethod ofgetting manied certificate. Ihebanns bybeing read aloud during theser' arepublished ofthethree5undays before theceremony. Youdonothave tob. oneach manied amember ofthechurch tobe therebutit isusual forthecouo. toattend thechurch onatleast oneofthe three occasions when the Youcangetmore details fromeither ministe' banns areread. areligious marriages whoisauthorised t0conduct 0rthelocalregistrar ofmarriacphone Registration maniages inthe see ofbirths, anddeaths book. IntheUK,many whentheyget women taketheirhusband's surname ' prefer manied. women Butthereisnoleqaldutytodothisandsome keeo their ownsurname. Living together

getting ma". Ihese days, many intheUKlivetogether without couples (ouples place orlivetogether Amaniaqe ceremony inaregistry cantakeplace office, aregistered before theygetmanied. wholivetogether ',',ofworship orinpremises thathave been approved bythelocalauthority. without being manied donothave thesame legalrights ascouples your problems You from local cangetalistofthese authority. aremarried andmayfacesome iftheirrelationship breaks -: Forexample, if onlyonepartner's name isonatenancy 0' - ' aqreement place, foramaniage need Inorder ceremony totake couples toget (ertificates from theregistrar ofmaniages inthedistrict(s) where they live.Inorder togetacertificate, need toshow thepartners theirbirth

ina deeds toaproperty, mayhave difficulty staying theotherpartner property orclaiming initsvalue. ashare

penon or,ifthese theirpersonal identity making orwife certifcates arenotavailable, documents.lfamarried dieswithout awill,theirhusband lf either ofthepartners hasbeen manied before, theyneed toshowproof entitled t0allormostoftheirpossesions. Butifacouple arenotma". partner has isnowill,it canbeverydifficult forthesurviving t, thatthismaniage ended. Certificates canbecollected between 21 andthere days and3 months before thedate ofthewedding.

partner's posessions. claim anyoftheir lf anunmanied have achild,bothparents have adutyt0supr couple yean thachild until heorsheis1B old.

partnerships Same-sex register theirrelationship and ,-oles ofthesame sex cannowlegally - ,'kthiswithacivilceremony known When they asacivilpartnenhip. : , :hrs legal rights couples. they have similar tothose ofmanied

partner lfyouarefacing hasleftyou, itisvery important divorce, orifyour particularly your position ifyou legal fromasolicitor, togetadvice about young m0ney have isdisagreement over 0rproperty. children orifthere

Drvorce

violence Domestic

r : /orce place Inorder fora during thefintyear ofmaniage. cannot take - :r 0rawoman pr0ve foradivorce theymust t0acourt that toapply -= ' maniage Inorder todothis,heorshe has'inetrievably broken downi - -jrprove following has happened: one 0fthe things

Anyone isaserious crime. IntheUK, brutality andviolence inthehome partner-whether theyareaman 0ra whoisviolent towards their Anyman who woman, manied orliving together-can beprosecuted. husband, forces including awoman's canbe awoman tohave sex, withrape. charged

. :reirpartner has committed adultery ' :'reirpartner This cancover many things hasbehaved unreasonably. tohave children ,.lch violence, assault, orrefusing asdomestic 1 :hey fortwoyears both want adivorce have lived apart and E:neyhave wants a lived forfiveyears andonlyonepartner apart llv0rce

c tnepartner foratleast twoyean before the hasdeserted theother ication fordivorce :ppl ttelp andadvice -'. breakdown canbeavery difficult timeforeveryone ofamaniage - ,rlved. help byananging an Family doctors can sometimes There isalso avoluntary and withafamily therapist. :::ointment - ::pendent inEngland which and called Relate, operates organisation phone ,l: es.You Relate or inthe book under details can findtheircontact :',,,ww.relate.0rg.uk

togethelp as Itisimportant foranywoman inthissituation assoon posible. canexplain theavailable Asolicitor Advice Bureau orthe(itizens places in Insome forwomen togoandstay options. areas there aresafe telephone numben inthe called refuges orshelten.Ihere areemergency Pages including, forwomen, the Helpline section atthefiont0ftheYellow (entre. police The canalso help women number ofthenearestWomen's place findasafe tostay.

Children

Parent( responsibilities whoaremanied have The lawsays thatparents 0fachild tooneanother fortheirchild. This iftheparents equal responsibility continues even parents separate ordivorce. Butwhen achild's arenotmanied, onlythe parental mother has responsibility unles: ::=thefather jointly registen withthemother thechild's birth

parenting Many voluntary organisations andlocal authorities offer Parentline isanatio". courses, support andadvice onbeing aparent. Plus They / da,. charity thatworks for,andwith,parents. offer afree 24-hour, telephone: helpline service forparentstelephone: 0808 80020aweek parentir get You canalso information on : 0r:www.parentlineplus.org.uk ontheBB( website: www.bbc.co.uk/parentinq

thefather subsequently marries them0ther

protection Child

parental thefather obtains themother's agreement forequal responsibility

fr:local initsarea Every authority has alegal dutytoprotect allchildren place andinterest allels. danger, andmust thesafety ofthechild above lfit believes harm it must ta,. thatachild issuffering significant athome, posible, Where local action totryandstop thishappening. authorities parents, power with the from:, tryt0work buttheyhave t0take achild inanemergency home andintocare. This isonlydone orwhen allothe' posibilities have failed.

* thefather parental responsibility byapplying tocourt acquires Parental responsibility until is18years continues achild old. 5upport

isafree helpline forchildren ChildLine andconfidential andyoung parents, whether withacounsellortelephor. Both theyaremanied toeach other 0rnot,have alegal people intheUKtotalkabout anyproblem responsibility tomaintain theirchildren financially. Afather whodoes 1111, IntheUK, there about 0800 or:wwwchildline.org.uk arelaws (see parental responsibility inlawstillhas his nothave adutyt0support employment and children Chapter 6). children frnancially. people f0rcHdren Medical advice andtreatment andyoung Control people From theageof16,young donotneed theirparents'permisro" Parents forthecare aslongasthedoctor 0rnurse areresponsible andcontrol oftheir children untilthey formedical consultation 0rtreatment penon force todiscipline them, butifthis believes whatisinvolved. are18.Bylaw, theycanusereasonable thattheyoung fullyunderstands punishment person forassault forcontraceptive advice anc istoosevere, theycanbeprosecuted orthechild lfayoung under theageof'l6asks ,' local may betaken into thecare ofthe authority. treatment, thedoctor willencourage them todiscuss thiswithaparen: ' pe60r contraception forayoung carer. Butmost doctors willprescribe what isinvolved. they believe they are able tounderstand

t I

(onsumer protection

Leaving achild ontheirown :sageneral rule, it isagainst thelawforchildren tobeleftalone inthe youbuysomething Bylaw,when from ashop, itshould doeverything unles person 'ome theyareinthecare ofaresponsible aged 16orover. youcanreasonably expect andallthattheseller andmanufacturer claim. The Sale youbuyfromashop ofGoods Act1979states thatthegoods or rrldminders andnurseries must beregistered andinspected bythe trader must: (0fsted). lfficeforStandards inEducation You cangetdetails 0fregistered (hildren's your .rildminders in area fromyour local authority, Informations beofsatisfactory quality, and (C15). :ervice [hildcareLink on08000 960296orwww.childcarelink. youthetelephone :ov.uk cangive number local ofyour ClS. You canalso mmatch thedescription, and '169 (NCMA) .rntact theNational Childminding Asociation on0800 4486 ' www.ncma.orq.uk {ftbefitforalltheir purposes. intended quality Satisfactory 'Being quality'means tor '.- :, ofsatisfactory must theg00ds befree scratches ordamage-unless thesales assi(ant toldyouabour l. . '. - : oryou hadachancet0 lookcarefullyatthe youb0u0fi: :' l itembefore had theopportunity tofindthefault. youbuyfrom Ihisruleapplies toanygoods ashop ortrader-new or second-hand. privately Butitdoes notapply t0qoods bought trom anindividual, forexample through anewspaper 0rshop window advertisement. Inthese cases, thebuyer isexpected totake responsibility quality goods forthe ofthe they buy. 'i Match thedescription 'Matching youbuymust thedescription'means thattheg00ds bethe same asthedescription onthepackaging 0radvertisement atthetimeof This ruleapplies sale. goods toallgoods sold, including second-hand privately. sold

purposes Fitforalltheirintended

5ervices

'Being purposes'means fit foralltheirintended mustdo thatthegoods packaginq what theseller, oradvertiser claims.

Ihelawcovering services-such ashairdressing orshoe repairs+tates that must services bedone:

withyourpurchases Taking care

,,withreasonable care andskill

Sometimes there areproblems withgoods bought fromshops, bymail idea order orontheinternet ands0itisag00d toukethefollowinq

. within areasonable time

sreps:

forareasonable charge.

Becautious ofadvertisements thatmake exaggerated claims, andof people youthings whotryt0sell atyour d00r

problems Ioavoid it isagood idea toagree theprice before the work starts.

particularly Keep receipts iftheg00ds were asproofofpurchase, expensive

Mailorder andinternet shopping

people There regulations arespecial toprotect whobuygoods fromhom. , lfthere youbought, isaproblem phone you withsomething stopusing it straight bypost, Aswellastherights listed 0r0ntheinternet. above, yourorder away andtelltheshop about theproblem ortrader areentitled tocancel within7working ifyoudecide thai days youdonotwanttobuytheitem.Butthisdoes notapply toallpurchases . lfyouhave youcannot yourmindfortickets tomake acomplaint toashop0rcompany, keep arecord of Forexample, change oraccommodatio' telephone callsandmake ofanyletters acopy oremails thatyousend. bookings, audio andvideorecordings thathave newspap€' been opened, Prices areusually clearly marked onmostnewgoods andthese arethe prices people thatcustomer Ingeneral, intheUKdo expect t0pay. prices notbarter 0rnegotiate forgoods. Butsome maytake bargaining place goods when buying houses, second-hand such ascars, 0rsome household services such asdecorating orgardening.

andmagazines, andperishable items such asflowers Youarea orfood. ' entitled toafullrefund if youdonotr,eceive thegoods bythedateagree: orwithin ifyoudidnotagree 30days, adate. goods lfyouarebuying it isimportant tha' ontheinternet, tomake sure youhave fulladdress. Youalsoneed thetraders tomake sure thatthe website wayofpaying-this isshown .' offers asecure byasmallpicture yellow padlock atthebottom ofthescreen.

(omplaints

Help andadvice

lfafaultappears youhave soon after bought anitemandyouarenot responsible, you are entitled either money t0your back ortoa replacement. lt istheshop's responsibility todeal withtheproblem.

You cangetadvice locally from thelrading Standards listed inthe Office, phone book under thelocal authority, orfromtheCitizens Advice Bureau.

products You cancheck theprices andperformance ofmany inWhich? f anitemworked youmay wellatfirstandthendeveloped afault, stillbe anindependent magazine. You cansubscribe tothemagazine orread it in :ntitled t0allorsome ofyour money back, tobeoffered areplacement public or thereference department ofmost libraries. :ohave theitemrepaired fieeofcharge. Iheaction taken willdepend on youhave rowlong hadthegoods, howserious thefaultisandwhether it Ihere ismore information about consumer rights from websrte theBBC sunreasonable forafault todeveloo sosoon. qetinformation www.bbc.co.ukYou canalso from thegovernment's official department which TraCirr, c0nsume6-the Ofn(e 0fFair 0rotects Paying bycredit card www.oft.oov.uk used acredit card tobuysomething which cost between fl 00 ' youhave :ndf10,000 isaproblem andthere withit,youcanclaim themoney rackfrom thecredit card company. This ifthetrader canbeuseful does r0thelp problem gone t0solve the orhas outofbusines.

ChAPtErs: ANDINFORMATION OFHELP SOURCES

lntroduction ofhelp offering allkinds different organisations there aremany isinformationIntheUK, Inthischapter there togo ofwhere there aredetails Inother chapters ofthisbook andadvice. aD0ut: This tellsyou section subject. information 0naparticular t0getfunher libraries andabout centres, byadvice r Help about theservices offered forrefugees andasylum more sources ofinformation. other seekers t Libraries

Beprepared

(itizens a The Advice Bureau

youarelooking thefollowrng orhelp, consider forinformation When advice:

e The police o Sources ofinformation

youneed o Eefore youask what to about forinformation thinkcarefully youwant toknow about thekeythings know. Make afewnotes

o Jheinternet

youreceive o Take notes about theinformation tomake apenandpaper

tipsonhowtoget andgeneral information andadvice

o lfyoudonotunderstand withyouto very well, take someone English ifthere isaninterpreter available help, orask youwillhave I Take an Sometimes withyou. alltherelevant documents your for case reference number account or o lrytoavoid longexplanations youtalktosoyoucanrefer a Make toil ofthename oftheperson anote again. ifyouneed tophone orvisit

Public libraries

public libraries. Youcan townandcityintheUKhasone0rmore Every phone Most ofthe inthe book. local library findtheaddres ofyour They arepaidforbynational libraries arefree. offered bypublic services butifyouwanttobonow Anyone mayusealocallibrary, andlocaltaxes.

lf facilitles andevents. goodplace toaskaboutlocalandcommunity mightoffera libraries youdonotunderstand verywell,some English service. translation

photocopiers andfaxmachines Tobecome Computers, youusually amember. have tobecome books andotheritems proofofyour and youusually identity have toshow amember todoword which thepublic canuse also have computers Libraries y0ur a00ress. ltisals0 theinternet. processing, emails andbrowse send andreceive (hildren photocopy mightb. faxes.Ihere posible andtosend libraries to insome forthese services. acharge -.rreisusually Libraries library forchildren. section 0fthe aseparate reading there arespecial andsometimes :- :r r raqe chrldren toreadbooks i.: , : esforchildren. items andother Books period libraries foraspecific oftime.Atsome ','enbers books canborrow oftenbooks andDVDs.Thereare CDs, audiotapes : spossible tobonow onaudiotape There arealsobooks other thanEnglish. kalled 'n anguages problems. people print for with sight with large and books talking booki) topaya ontime,youwillhave f youdonotreturn books andotheritems order it theycanusually nothave abookyouneed, fine.lfthelibrary does library. foryoufrom another Reference such asdictionaries, there arebooks Inthereference section Local Yellow Pages andThomson telephone directories, encyclopaedias, section ishelpful Thereference guides. Sometimes there arenewspapers. isalsoa library inparticular.Ihe information 0nsomething ifyouneed

.itizens Advice Bureau

Thepolice service

(tAB) gives Advice , lrzens Bureau free, confidential andimpartial Themain role istodeal withcrime, buttheyalso ofthepolice offer protection .: ltisanindependent organisation withtrained advise6. [4ost They andasistance tothepublic. areexpected tobefriendly -, and(itieshave Youcanfindtheaddres intheohone andhelpful aCAB office. topeople lfyouarewonied about seeking theirassistance. . thelocal library website orvisit theCAB atwww.nacab.org.ukyourpersonal safety orhave about thelaworcrime, thepolrce aquestion ' ': youvisita(ABoffice youshould parts willbeabletohelpyou.Insome check theopening timesofyour ofthecountry there arespecial rfflce. Help isalso available byemail. Details about thisareavailabletelephone information linesforthispurpose. Inmany communrtres '- : website. (t50s)whoworkatalocalleveto there arecommunity support officers provide presence localpeople They' andreassure avisible onthestreets :'actical help maygivetalk onsafety issues inschools andcommunity centres and generally help withtheir local thepolice duties. r, qrve advice andhelp across awide range include oftopics.These -:y,benefits, pensions, employment, housing, immigration, theNH5, ':sticviolence andconsumer oroblems. , ,ABcanalsohelpwithcompleting forms They andwritingletters. problems lf youhave , sohelpifyouhave togot0court0ratribunal. ::rstanding English theymaybeable toprovide interpreters website atwww.adviceguide.org.uk -ABalsorunsaninformation -- gives information on a wide range of topics. ltisavailable in -r Welsh, Punjabi Bengali, [hinese, Gujarati, andUrdu. - 'sh,

Other sources ofinformation

(ontacting thepolice lfyouneed advice oryouneed toreport acrime which isnotdangerous * Yellow Pages: gives ayellow telephone directory which details of youshould phone police orlife+hreatening thelocal station. Ihenumber organisations, services andbusinesses inthelocal area. Ihere isalso , isinthetelephone phone book under'Policei D0NOT 999or112unless website atwww.yell.com there isanemerqency. I Thomson (available Local: aguide toyour local area in6reat Britain lfthere isadanger t0lifeoracrime inprogres, dial999ori 12.The similar totheYellow Pages. yourequire: police, operator willask which service fire,ambulance or coastguard youarecalling service. You willbeasked where fromandthe o Local authorities: information allgive about theirservices such as location oftheaccident 0remergency. not Do call999orll2underany education andsocial services. The numbers foreach section 0fthe, (ir(umstances. other phone authority canbefound inthe book. Most local h;,, authorities useful websites. have information Some andadvice centres open rc The Fire Service theoublic. -'e nreservice (known c Tourist (entres: insome areas asthefireandrescue j service) give information information about local attractionj .anoften help withfiresafety giving andfireprevention. This includes places wellasontransport, ofworship, doctor's surgeries andsoo" advice about what plan todoifthere isafire,howtomake afireescape foryouandyour family andadvice onfirehazards inthehome. Insome o Post offices:the main roleofthepost office istocollect anddelive' areas there arefree home firesafety checks andthefireservice might provide mail. They pens also information about benefits andstate .' also beable tofitsmoke detectort fortheelderly. especially For further You post paybills:' canalso open abank accountatthe officeand (thenumber information y0ur contact localfire service isinthetelephone thepost yougetapplication office forms fordriving licences, othe' book under'Fire') org0t0wwwfire.gov.uk licences passport Iheycanalso andpasports. check applications yousend before them tothepassport office. "l

t Helplines: many organisations have specialtelephone lines which : ,advice onspecific isues orproblems. You cangetthese from the( r : (see orpublic library orfrom theinternet below). I Newspapers: these national areeither 0rlocal. Local newspdp€rs ;': good forlocal information such astheopening times oflate night che-'

Television andradio channels: national these areeither orlocal. Local radio stations can beagood information. source oflocal gives Directgov:this isaGovernment-sponsored website that government information local issues,ranging from about andnational howyoucomplete ataxreturn t0howyourenew alibrary book, www.direct.gov.uk Using theinternet -heinternet canbeaccessed through acomputer either athome, inthe rcallibrary orinaninternet cafe. Togetinformation from theinternet (thisusually ,lu need toknow theaddres ofaspecific website begins ,',ith'www') popular oryouneed touse asearch engine. The most search .rgineisGoogle atwww.google.co.uklhe search keywords engine uses ' . findinformation you about lf aspecific thing. enter thekeywords .lnsumer rights, forexample) intothesearch engine, itwilllook for youmillions : ,thwords separately andgive ofresults. lfyouputinverted (tonsumer ,rmasaround thewords rights') thesearch willlook engine " websites withwords inthiscombination. only Websites -erearemany addresses ofuseful websites inthisguide. Aparticularly gives youaccess :fulwebsite istheBBC website www.bbc.co.uk This at ' ocal, national andinternational information andhasa newsservice - rver40languages. ltalso has sections oneducation, history, science, and lawand links valuable orovides toother sources -;iness ' rformation.

(hAPtCr9: BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES

(ohesive communities Becoming aBritish [itizen or senled intheUK becoming brings opportunities butalso responsibilities. Thissection looks

Although Britain isoneoftheworld's mostdiverse societies, mostpeople withwhicheveryone believe thatthere should beasetofshared values Many inotherpartsofthisbook. canagree. ofthose values arementioned

principle There isageneral respect thatallpeople should thelawand atsome oftheresponsibilitiestherights ofothers. wantto Butinaddition toobeying thelaw,people getonwellwiththeirneighboun andgives information about andcontribute t0thewell-being ofall. purpose ways inwhich The some ofthemany ofthisbookistohelpnewmigrants whowantt0become people canhelp tomake their settled intheUKortobecome British [itizens tobecome more aware of (ommunities place abetter tolive thelaws, customs andtraditions here. Knowing about these will things an0w0rK.

make it easier tobecome afullandactive citizen, butreading abookisno partofsociety. substitute forbeing toknowandundentand Bygetting your community, lifewillbebetter foreveryone. given have 5urveys ussome veryinteresting information about what people good makes feel they livein.Everyone orbadabout thearea (an r! should trytobeagoodneighbour. You startt0dothrsbyintroduc yourself tothepeople wholivenextt0you.lt isqoodtoavoid makinq toomuch noise hbours. andtorespect theprivacy ofyourneig Oneofthe most isabout common causes neighbours leaving ofcomplaint about youknowwhatdays youcan rubbish outside thehouse. 5omake sure putoutyour you rubbish forittobecollected what andthat know arrangements there areinyour area forrecycling. Good citizens Aspecial in2005-tells survey{he UKCitizenship Survey usagreat deal whatpeople about thinkabout therights andresponsibilities ofbeing a citizen.The things thatpeople strongly feltshould betheresponsibilities of allpeople living intheUKwere: Toobey andrespect thelaw

#

properly Ioraise children

€ Totreat others withfairness andrespect # Tobehave responsibly * Tohelp protect your and family € Torespect andpreserve theenvironmenl + Tobehave morally and ethically

Totreat allraces equally Iowork toprovide foryourself Iohelp othen -+ Iovote. ::lr:

Becausejurors arerandomly selected theyrepresent allsections ofsociety. Iheywillbeasked approach tothecase t0ensure that totake anunbiased juror place. fair trial takes Being a is a very important role and is a a people positive forthecommunity. chance todosomething Some arenot qualified might it.More forjuryservice andothen beexcused fromdoing forConstitutional Affairs website, details canbefound 0ntheDepartment www.dca.gov.uk

:i.

:i

Helping atschools

youcanhelp lfyouhave children, there aremany ways inwhich attheir parents Supporting thecommunig schools. 0ften, canhelpinclasrooms orduring mealtimes by helping withtheirreading.Often tosupervise activities orhelping children youcanbeagood Ihere areanumber ofpositive ways inwhich citizen. youwillfndoutabout these opportunities bynotices intheschool or your include: Ihese from notes children bring home. service Jury

Many money forextra schools organise events toraise equipment 0r Activities might include outofschool activities. book sales, toysales, or people getting good Apart from therighttovote, ontheelectoral register might bringing food tosell. You might have ideas ofyour ownforraising jury (see page parent beasked t0serve 0na 90).Jurors Sometimes events areorganised by arechosen atrandom money. andstaffassociations (PSAs). (PIAs) from theelectoral register. Anyone whoisontheelectoral reqister These arealso known asparent teacher associations and and isaged 1B-70 canbeasked The volunteering withevents orjoining isawayof toserve. task ofjurors istodecide the tohelp theassociation good ofacriminaltrial intheCrown doing something fortheschool aldalso making new friends inyour outcome Court.They willbeamong jury people year localcommunity. many chosen each for service andtheywillhave an opportunity t0beinvolved inthelegal system. hear the more Jurors governors serious criminal cases such astheft, burglary, anddrugs offences. Jurors School also hear cases involving murder andrape, although these types ofcases governors from theschool whowish to aretess common. School arepeople community positive make t0children's They must a contribution education. beaged presented election orappointment. There isnoupper Iheirtask istoconsider theevidence throughout thetrialand 18orover atthedate 0ftheir guilty'based aoe limit. thenreach averdict of'guilty'0r'not onthatevidence.

Governors arealarge volunteer force parttoplay Volunteering andhave animportant inraising school standards. They have three keyroles ofsetting strategic direction, ensuring accountability andmonitoring andevaluating school Volunteering payment. isworking forgood causes without There are performance. many benefits youachance from volunteering. ltgives tomeet new people andcanhelpifyouarebored athome. Some volunteer activities You your cancontact governor. local school toaskiftheyneed anew Your might youbygiving help youachance your topractice English ortogive (tEA) local youfindaschool education authority willbeable tohelp youwork or youfindajoborimprove skills thatwillhelp your [V.Butmany governor. advise onopportunities t0become anLEA people rlolunteer simply because theywant todosomething tohelp other pe0pre. parties Political you Activities can doasavolunteer include: parties Political welcome always newmembers, andjoining apolitical party isanimportant . helpinq wayofdemonstrating you support fortheviews theeldedy proces. hold parties andforthedemocratic Political areespecially busy I youth work atelection when people I times, theirmemben work hard topersuade to helping improve theenvironment vote fortheircandidates, Forinstance byhanding outleaflets inthe$reet I working withthehomeles orbyknocking onpeople! doors andasking fortheirsupport. Becoming I ment0ring (itizen youtostand I work aBritish allows foroffice asalocal [ouncillor orasa inhealth and hospitals provides I Member Parliament of andso anopportunity forbecoming even workinq withanimals. more involved inthepolitical lifeoftheUK. Many charities want volunteen tohelp withtheiractivities andtohelp Local Services them raise money. They often advertise inlocal newspapers andmost charities have youmore websites thatwillgive inforntation. lfyouwant to providers people Many local service want toinvolve local indecisions you get about volunteercan more information from www.do-it.org.uk which is thewayinwhich they work. There areopportunities toserve asaBoard adatabase ofthousands ofvolunteering 0pp0rtunities. (areTrusts member inPrimary orRegional Development Agencies. local Universities, Learning andSkills Councils, housing associations andarts Inrecognition 0ftheimportant rolevolunteers andthenot-for-profit governing councils also advertise forpeople play t0serve asvolunteers intheir sector inboth society andtheeconomy, the0ffice oftheThird Sector posible (0TS) ltisalso bodies. tobecome alay(non-police) representative ona was setupinMay 2006 todrive forward theGovernmentb rolein police authority oreven toapply tobecome You willoften amagistrate. find supp0rting athriving voluntary sector. The thirdsector includes v0luntary advertisements forvacancies inyour local newspaper or0nlocal radio. andcommunity organisations, charities, social enterprises andfaithgr0ups.

(5VMake is aDifference Day, volunteering, campaign topromote Active together thework oftheformer Communities tSV's Ihe0TS brings (ACD), has in community. CSV ofdirect volunteering the day andtheSocial EnterprisetheUKIbiggest intheHome Office Directorate originally (DTl) forCSV andprojects and 10,000 volunteers whorunactivities over senior andIndustry formerly intheDepartment ofTrade Unit(SEnU), q0to volunteers. For more information withtheDepartment for recruit senior ltwillwork closely other within the[abinet Office. (D(LG) www.csv.org.uk ontheroleofthirdsector [ommunities andLocalGovernment andregional incommunities anddecision-making atalocal organisations Prince ofWales. Having in1976byThe Prince's lrustwasfounded website at: The information, visitthe0ffice oftheThird Sector level. Formore Navy, hebecame dedicated toimproving hisdutyintheRoyal completed www.ca binetoffi ce.gov.uk/thirdsector young people intheUK, theTrust to andbegan thelives ofdisadvantaged (MV) programme people, deliver onthat commitment. younger Volunteersisanational For Millenium get you people As MV a chance to help others at aged 16-24.an aimed youth offering arange of your has UKtleading chariry youenjoy becomethe skills atthesame time. TheTrust something anddevelop bydoing personaldevelopment, instarting up support including training, of opprtunitia lfyoudo200hours There areschemes inmost cities andtowns. people got0 abusinesl foryoung aged 14-30. mentoring and advice yougetanAward Formore information volunteering, ofExcellence. www.m illeniumvol unteers.gov.uk groups: TheTrust has fourkey target people isanational thatseeks t0inspire andconnect TimeBank charity people young that r Unemployed TimeBank appeals topeople whoknow toshare andgive theirtime. a people young underachieving what todoabout areindemand-butjust dontknow theirtimeandskills a people partnership Young leaving care in with Government where to start. TimeBank has worked itor people. offenders andex-offenders. withdisadvantaged For I Young infinding volunteers tohelp departments TimeBank has worked withtheHome 0ffice tofindvolunteers example, managers need volunteers. Manytew oraspiring activities help findjobsandtoget Allofthese them towork withrefugees astheirmentors-to group with go Prince3Trust helps them findthatvolunteering witha insociety. For more information to more involved realmanagement issues ina totackle theirowncareer astheyhave www.timebank.org.uk tovolunteer t0help disadvantaged lfyouwant challenging environment. (CSV) people youcancontact theTrust atwwwprinces-trust.0rg.uk isoneofthelargest organisationsyoung Service V0luntee6 Community prides pioneering new lt itselfon intheUKthatpromotes volunteering. 40 needs has over ways totackle society's and solutions andinnovative years'experience partners inactivities that insupporting andvolunteers lives. really make adifference topeoplel

_'anues :'-rain has many thousnds ofactive chadties, working t0impruve the ,esofpeople-and animals-in awide variety ofwayrSome ofthe :rganisations already mentioned inthischapter arcchadties, butyouwill -rarabout thework ofmany othenAfnvofthemost imprtant chaftia *orkinq inBritain aredEkribed below.

inmany fields, opportunities isa Red [ross The British firstaid,emergenty member oftheInternational including (rescent (ross an0 respon5e, amessage Red Red and service t0tryt0reunite largest radng theworldt movemenl whohave been organisation. people humanitarian and byconflict, champions separated The movement refugees. helping andcommunity individual which encourage values forother human beings respect towork and awillingnes to together tofindsolutions problems. The Red community movement [rescent [ross/Red iscommitted to,andbound Principles. by,itsFundamental These are: Humanity lmpartiality Neutrality lndependence service voluntary Unily Universality. and affiliation Ithas noreligious volunteering intheUKoffers

(www.greenpeace. Greenpeace isaninternational org.uk) organisatlon environmental British founded inVancouver, (anada lt in 1971. Columbia, foritscampaigns isknown and atmospheric tostop as testing nuclear underground onclimate agrip Getting tohigh anend wellastobring change years, In later the whaling. seas inlaws tobring Bringing turned organisation ofthe doontep. focus recycling toyour issues, toother environmental more energy Warmer, trawling, including bottom homes effcient global forest warming, ancient Protecting ourcountryside. power nudear de$ruction, genetically Keeping genetic engineering. modified food offthemenu. and national and has 6reenpeace to bigcompanies Persuading 41 in countries regional offices inrespect befter behave including theUK. worldwide, environment. ofthe through Itreceives itsincome contributions theindividual 2.8million ofanestimated aswell financial supportert grants from charitable asfrom not foundationt butdoes from acceptfunding governments attons. orcorpof

isone ofthe ofthe Earth Friends charities environmental leading in founded intheUKandwas can Further information 1971. at from itswebsite beobtained ltsinterests are: www.foe.org.uk