Starter. Structured task in pairs - Stages of a bill

Transcription

1 How laws are made - KS4 Curriculum areas: Citizenship Supporting resources: Stages of a bill statement sort 1, Stages of a bill statement sort 2, A four day week? worksheet, How laws are made powerpoint presentation Starter Ask the students to work in pairs to discuss and list as many UK laws as they can think of, e.g. it is against the law to drink and drive, the law states that you must not smoke in public places, you must be 18 to vote, etc. Each pair should feedback one law. Establish that laws are made in Parliament and that creating and amending legislation is a key function of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Explain that a draft law has to go through many stages before it becomes a law, that draft laws are called bills and that some bills may not get to become a law as they may be voted out. Structured task in pairs - Stages of a bill Refer to How laws are made presentation (slide 1). Explain that there are different types of bills and that the majority will be government bills. Explain that the sequencing task they are going to do in pairs is based on a government bill starting in the House of Commons. Make sure they understand, however, that bills can start off in either House. For higher attaining groups, use slide 1 of the How laws are made presentation to explain different types of bills in more detail. Students should cut or tear down the dotted line on the stages of a bill statement sort 1 worksheet and stick the left hand side of the worksheet (i.e. the stages of a bill) into their book. (Use the simpler stages of a bill statement sort 2 for lower attainers).

2 Working in pairs, they should then try to match the correct statement to the correct stage. They can make their own notes or cut-and-stick the statements. Use slide 2 of the How laws are made presentation to check their answers. Slide 3 provides an overview of the whole process. Role-play activity - Second reading stage This will i) consolidate understanding of how the stages of a bill can shape a draft law and ii) critically evaluate some different ideas and viewpoints on an imaginary bill. Explain that the class is going to role-play the second reading of a government bill on the introduction of a four day school week. Ask the students to initially brainstorm any thoughts, ideas and opinions they have about this in pairs or small groups. Use the A four day school week? worksheet to draw out further ideas and ask the students which of these opinions they agree or disagree with. To run the role-play: Divide the class into two groups with half of the class forming the government side and half the opposition side. In small groups within these two larger groups, the students should list at least two arguments for their side, i.e. two arguments for a four-day school week if they are on the government side and two arguments against a four-day school week if they are on the opposition side. When they have generated at least two arguments in their small groups, set up the room to represent the House of Commons Chamber with the government on one side and the opposition on the other. Take on the role of Speaker (or choose a student to do this) and ask someone on the government side to pretend to be the Secretary of State for Schools and start off the debate by presenting their key argument(s). Do the same thing for the other side with one student presenting an argument against the four-day week pretending to be the Shadow Schools Secretary. Allow the students to then request to put forward their arguments by catching the Speaker s eye. They could do this either by putting their hand up or, as they do in the House of Commons, by standing up. After each side has had a chance to put forward their arguments, conduct a second reading stage vote. After they have voted, explain that MPs would be expected to vote with their party. You could explain that Ministers who vote against their party have to resign their position and that it is the party whips who are responsible for helping to make sure MPs vote the way the party wants them to. Make sure the students understand that bills can be voted out at this stage and that it would then not pass onto the next stage. It would have to be re-introduced in the next parliamentary year.

3 Plenary Individually, they should write down from memory the next stages that the bill would go through if it passed the second reading stage. They should then use their lesson notes to check their answers. Pose the question: what are the main advantages and disadvantages of a bill passing through these stages before becoming a law? If they are struggling with this, ask them to think about what would happen if the Prime Minister wanted to create a new law to increase the voting age to 21 and this legislative process did not exist. Explain that this process allows all Members of Parliament to contribute to and shape legislation and prevents the majority party simply pushing through laws which meet their own agenda without a checking and balancing process. Suggested homework or development work Find out how their MP voted on a particular bill. Find out what is meant by the term free vote and which sorts of bills tend to have free votes (i.e. bills relating to matter of conscience). Watch a debate on a bill either in the House of Commons or the House of Lords (

4 Stages of a bill statement sort 1 Consultation stage First Reading Second Reading Committee Stage Amendments made during the Committee Stage are reported to everyone in the House of Commons. MPs may vote on these amendments. This is the main debating stage where all MPs can discuss the bill, ask questions and vote on it. It could be voted out at this stage. Overall consideration of the bill in the House of Commons and final votes to decide whether it goes any further. Report Stage Third Reading The bill goes to the House of Lords who follow similar stages. They can suggest amendments to the bill and send it back to the Commons, who may send it back again until an agreement can be reached. If no agreement can be reached, the House of Commons can eventually vote to pass the law without consent from the House of Lords through an Act of Parliament which gives them more power over the House of Lords. The Queen signs-off the bill as a new law or Act of Parliament. The government makes a draft of the bill and asks senior officials to make comments. The government announces the bill by reading out its title in the House of Commons to let everyone know about it. A smaller group of MPs look at the bill in detail. They may make changes, called amendments, based on their discussions. The Royal Assent

5 Stages of a bill statement sort 2 Third Reading Overall consideration of the bill in the House of Commons and final votes to decide whether it goes any further. The Royal Assent The Queen signs-off the bill as a new law or Act of Parliament. Second Reading This is the main debating stage where all MPs can discuss the bill, ask questions and vote on it. It could be voted out at this stage. Committee Stage A smaller group of MPs look at the bill in detail. They may make changes, called amendments, based on their discussions. Consultation Stage The government makes a draft of the bill and asks senior officials to make comments Report Stage Amendments made during the Committee Stage are reported to everyone in the House of Commons. MPs may vote on these amendments. First Reading The government announces the bill by reading out its title in the House of Commons to let everyone know about it. Lords Stages The bill goes to the House of Lords who follow similar stages. They can suggest amendments to the Bill and send it back to the Commons, who may send it back again until an agreement can be reached. If no agreement can be reached, the House of Commons can eventually vote to pass the law without consent from the House of Lords through an Act of Parliament which gives them more power over the House of Lords.

6 A four day school week? Secretary of State for Education We believe that a four day school week would greatly improve the quality of education in our schools. It would reduce the workload of teachers by giving them more time to plan and prepare. This would help reduce stress, a key reason why many good teachers are deciding to leave the profession. With more preparation time, the quality of lessons in schools will improve and we could expect to see improvements in standards across all subject areas. Working parent I already find it difficult to pay for after school childcare for my children. I would not be able to afford an additional day of child care and I would not be able to take the day off work. I may have to change my job so that I can work a four day week and that would mean a great deal less money for my family. Teacher I think a four day week is an excellent idea. This would greatly reduce my workload as I would have more time for planning and marking. I could dedicate more time to creating quality lessons for my students. Student I think a four-day week is a good idea for taking the pressure off young people and giving them more time to devote to hobbies and extra-curricular activities. Head teacher Many of the teachers at my school are keen on a four day week and say that lessons would be improved with more time to plan them. I am concerned, however, that standards will fall with less time devoted to teaching and learning. Teacher A four day school week is going to have devastating effects on many families who cannot afford the additional child care. I can see that there are advantages to a shorter school week. Perhaps the fifth day could still be spent in school but with the students completing purely extra-curricular activities on that day. Teaching rotas to cover the extra-curricular lessons could allow teachers a day off every other week to do marking and planning. Shadow Minister for Education The Government s plans are ill-conceived. They should only be considered if a four day working week for employees is considered at the same time. This would be a major blow to parents trying to work to support their families at a time when child care costs are already preventing some parents from gaining employment.