Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role — Set 3

There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, each one representing a single constituency.

Twenty-six senior Church of England figures — the Lords Spiritual — have seats in the House of Lords alongside the peers.

The 1999 reform removed the right of most hereditary peers to sit in the Lords, but 92 were allowed to remain.

The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that commands the House of Commons; choosing the Prime Minister is not a role of the House of Lords.

Debates in the House of Lords are chaired by the Lord Speaker, an office created in 2006.

Hansard is the official report of debates and speeches in Parliament; copies can be found in large libraries and online.

Select committees examine the work, spending and policies of government departments and hold ministers to account.

The Prime Minister answers questions from MPs in the Commons once a week, in the session known as Prime Minister's Questions.

Whips keep their party's MPs informed about parliamentary business and make sure they turn up and vote in important divisions.

At the State Opening, the monarch formally opens the new session of Parliament and reads a speech setting out the government's planned laws.

Under the Parliament Acts, the Lords can delay most bills but the Commons can ultimately pass them without the Lords' agreement.

The Scottish Parliament has 129 members, known as MSPs, elected by voters in Scotland.

The official handbook states that 108 members, known as MLAs, are elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which meets at Stormont in Belfast. (The number was reduced to 90 in 2017, after the handbook was published — but 108 is the figure the test is based on.)

The Scottish Government is led by the First Minister of Scotland, who is nominated by the Scottish Parliament.

PCCs are elected by the public to set the overall priorities and budget for their police force area; day-to-day operations stay with the chief constable.

A directly elected mayor leads the local authority for their area and is responsible for the council services it runs.

Scotland has its own legal system. Most criminal and civil cases there are dealt with in the Sheriff Courts, and the most serious criminal cases, such as murder, are heard in the High Court of Justiciary. The Crown Court and the County Court are courts of England and Wales.

The High Court of Justiciary is Scotland's highest criminal court and hears the most serious cases, such as murder and rape.

Scottish juries have 15 members — three more than the 12 used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Youth courts deal with defendants aged 10 to 17; their hearings are held in private and the young person's name is not published.

Coroners investigate deaths whose cause is unknown or that happened suddenly or violently, holding an inquest if one is needed.

Employment tribunals hear workplace disputes, including claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination at work.

In criminal cases the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt — a much higher standard than the one used in civil cases.

Civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities, meaning the court accepts the version of events that is more likely than not.