In this assignment I am going to analyse how government policies are developed, covering all aspects of the policy making process.
There are many different levels of government which exist and have a direct or indirect impact on people’s lives.
The levels of government are Central, (which involve the Monarchy, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords), Regional, (which involve Devolved parliaments) and Local, (which involve Local authorities, country councils and Metropolitan councils). Each level contains a variety of different organisations and branches of government which help to keep the country and the public services running smoothly and effectively. All branches of the government interact with each other to produce laws, and by interacting with each other and sharing ideas, new policies are created.
The central government of the UK is based in London at Westminster. It contains the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Together with the monarch these three government organizations are known as Parliament. Government is made aware of new ideas from the media, the public and mp’s discussions in meetings, and also from new issues such as civil disobedience which triggers discussion in parliament.
The creation of law and new policies can be complicated and there are many parts to it. Firstly, policies start from new ideas on how to change or manage a situation in the UK. If the policy is important and thought to be needed it becomes a discussion topic in government meetings such as cabinet meetings and parliamentary committees and subcommittees. A cabinet meeting is when the government departments involved in the new idea meet with the prime minister and the top ministers to discuss it. If the new idea involved was for example ‘all police officers are to be managed in a different structure’, then the home office department would be involved in the cabinet meeting. The person from the home office would be