Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Allchin, and I'm going to be taking you through this citizenship lesson today.

I'm going to give you all the information that you need to be successful, and I'm also going to pause and tell you when to complete a check for understanding or a task.

Hope you enjoy the lesson.

This lesson is called "What Does National Government Have to Do with Local Government?" And it comes from the unit of lessons "Synopticity: How Do Different Ideas and Concepts in Citizenship Interconnect?" By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain the relationship between local and national government and how the work of one impacts the other.

Our keywords for this lesson are "national government," which is the group of people with the authority to govern a country.

In the UK, this is the government which is chosen and led by the prime minister, the PM.

"Local government," which is a system of government that operates at a local level, providing services to its community.

And "impact," which is the effect or influence of a decision or action.

Our lesson outline for "What Does National Government Have to Do with Local Government?" is first, we're going to have a look at: how does national government influence local? And then we're going to look at: how does local government influence national? So let's begin by looking at: how does national government influence local? So Laura's asking that question: "How does national government influence local government?" So right at the beginning of this lesson, what are your initial thoughts? Pause and have a think.

National government influences local government by creating laws and policy, funding, accountability, and powers and responsibility.

So let's have a look at those in a bit more detail.

So laws and policy.

Local government must follow laws and policies made by national government, as everyone does.

So, for example, if Parliament passes a new law on education or waste collection, local councils must carry it out, even if that's going to prove to be a little bit tricky.

So, for instance, the Education Act 2011 introduced reforms to the education system in England.

This law allowed more schools to become academies and free schools, which meant they could operate more independently from local councils.

However, local councils still have a legal duty to make sure every child in their area has a school place available to them.

This created a challenge, and as a result, councils had to negotiate with these new schools about funding and school places, an issue that continues to be debated in politics today.

The Environment Act 2021 introduced new national rules on waste collection and recycling, meaning that local governments had to adjust their waste strategies to meet the targets this law set out to achieve.

So the law was made by Parliament, so it ultimately came from national, but because refuse collection is something that local councils and local governments look after, therefore they had to implement these changes.

For household recycling, this meant local government needed to ensure consistent collections, mandatory food waste collection, separated recycling, and simpler recycling as well.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false, and can you tell me why? "When laws are created, local government has the power to decide whether or not to implement them." Is that true or false? And it's false.

And could you tell me why? Because local government must follow laws and policies made by national government, as everyone must.

There's also links to do with funding.

Local government receives funding from national government so they can provide public services.

When national government increases or decreases this funding, it directly impacts how local government functions.

In 2010, the UK government announced a reduction in local government funding as part of wider austerity measures, and that is when national government needs to potentially cut funding on public services to try and gain some money.

This meant that local government faced significant cuts, which led to changes in how they could approach and fund public services.

So, for example, some local governments had to reduce library opening times or make cuts to public transport subsidies.

So this is another link in terms of funding.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, national government provided emergency grants to councils to support local services and vulnerable people.

Many local councils received funding to help provide food parcels and support for shielding residents.

This supported local government in being able to care for the immediate needs of local citizens during a time of national crisis.

There's also accountability in terms of how national government influences local.

So accountability is when you are scrutinising and checking the work of somebody else.

So national government departments check and review local government services to make sure they meet required standards.

So, for an example of this is Ofsted.

So Ofsted checks schools at a local level on behalf of the Department for Education at a national level.

Ofsted inspections tell schools what they need to improve and highlight what they are doing well.

This shows how a national government department can directly impact local government services.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which public service do Ofsted monitor for accountability? Is it A: hospitals, B: libraries, or C: schools? It's schools.

There's also powers and responsibilities.

So, national government decides what powers local government have.

It can give them more power through devolution, but also take powers away.

So, for example, in 2015, the national government agreed a devolution deal with the West Midlands Combined Authority, giving it new powers over transport, housing, and skills.

And this was part of a wider plan to give more control to regional areas.

But in 2021 and 2022, Slough Borough Council faced national government intervention, with commissioners appointed to oversee the council's work as a direct result of the local government's mismanagement of finances.

A report from the commissioners in 2022 said the financial problems were very serious and would take a long time to sort out.

And this highlights how the national government will step in and intervene with the work of local governments if needed.

So you can see here that it's got the ability to give power.

Also potentially take away too.

Local governments do a lot of important work.

However, national government still has an impact.

National government controls what local governments can do through the laws they create, the funding they provide, the standards they set, and the powers they give or take away.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Fill in the missing words.

So, "something" government controls what "something" governments can do through the "something" they create, the "something" they provide, the standards they set, and the "something" they give or take away.

Pause while you have a go at this check for understanding.

Let's see how you got on.

So, national government controls what local governments can do through the laws they create, the funding they provide, the standards they set, and the powers they give or take away.

Task A: I'd like you to explain how national government influences local government by creating laws and policy, funding, accountability, and powers and responsibility.

Pause while you have a go at task A.

When explaining how national government influences local government, you may have included: National government has a big influence on how local government works in several ways.

Firstly, it creates laws and policies that local governments have to follow.

For example, if Parliament makes a law or policy about education or recycling, the local government must carry it out.

Secondly, funding is a key way national government impacts local governments, as councils get a lot of their money from national government.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the national government gave extra funding to local councils to help them support people who were shielding or struggling by providing food parcels or housing support.

You may have continued: Thirdly, there's accountability.

Local government services are often checked by national government departments to make sure they are doing a good job.

For example, Ofsted is a government department that inspects schools, including ones run by local councils, to see if they are giving children a good education.

And finally, national government decides what powers and responsibilities local governments have.

It can give more control to some areas through devolution, as happened with the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2015, or it can take powers away if things go badly.

So we've had a look at: how does national government influence local? We're now going to consider: how does local government influence national? So again, let's start by looking at that open question: How does local government influence national government? So turning the tables now.

So pause and consider this question.

Local government influences national government by delivering services, providing local knowledge, influencing national perception, and campaigning and lobbying.

So delivering services.

Local governments run important services like schools, housing, social care, and roads.

How well they do this affects what people think about national government.

So, for example, Manchester City Council is working with charities and other agencies to reduce rough sleeping in the city.

The local government has been praised for bringing homelessness numbers down, but this also made people ask: "Why isn't national government doing more to tackle this issue across the whole country?" So that's an example of things that are happening at a local level that might make people think, "Well, wait a minute, if it's happening at a local level through local government, why aren't the national government doing more?" In April 2022, Cornwall Council received funding from the national government's Levelling Up scheme to improve many areas of day-to-day life, including the tourism economy, housing support, clean energy, and rural bus services.

This was seen as a success of partnership between local and national government.

It helped boost trust in the local council and gave the national government positive publicity in terms of regional development.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Cornwall Council secured funding from which government scheme? Was it A: Levelling Equality, B: Levelling Across, or C: Levelling Up? And it was C: Levelling Up.

There's also local knowledge.

Local governments understand their local areas and can advise national government about what communities need, and this helps to shape national policies.

So, for example, in 2024, Kent County Council raised concerns with national government about the high number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving at Dover and therefore being under the council's care.

They used their local knowledge to highlight the pressures facing local services like schools, housing, and social care.

This influenced national government to spread young refugees more evenly across the country and provide fairer funding.

Local government can also influence national perception.

So local elections can affect how people view national politics.

If a political party does well at a local level, it can boost them nationally, but if they lose support locally, it may also show that the public is unhappy with national policies.

So what's happening in one can have an impact on the other.

So Jacob's asking: "Are there any examples of local government influencing perception of national government?" Pause and have a think.

So the Conservative Party lost over 470 council seats in the 2024 local elections across England.

These losses could be viewed as a public reaction to national issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, NHS pressures, and political scandals following the COVID-19 pandemic.

And this mirrored what was then observed in the following general election, with the Conservatives losing many seats and failing to remain in government.

So if we look at this graph showing the 2024 general election results, the number of seats won by party you can see.

So this was a general election that followed the local election where the Conservatives lost lots of seats, and you could see that that was then mirrored in the national election.

In 2016, Labour's Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London, defeating Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith.

Sadiq Khan's win gave Labour a strong platform and influenced national debate on issues like public transport, housing, and community integration.

It may also have improved public perception of the Labour Party after their poor results in the 2015 general election.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Put these events into the correct order.

So pause, have a read of box A, B, and C, and then see if you can put them into the correct order.

So your correct order should look like this: "The Conservative Party lost over 470 council seats in the 2024 local elections across England," that was box B.

"These losses could be viewed as a public reaction to national issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, NHS pressures, and political scandals following the COVID-19 pandemic," was A.

And then "This mirrored what was then observed in the following general election, with the Conservatives losing many seats," which was C.

Campaigning and lobbying as well.

So local governments can campaign for national changes.

Local government might lobby for more funding, better transport links, or changes to planning laws.

So, for example, after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, councils across London campaigned for changes to national building regulations and fire safety laws.

And this helped lead to new legislation, including the Building Safety Act 2022, which introduced stronger safety and accountability for developers and landlords.

The local government of Greater Manchester also campaigned heavily for improved rail services across the North of England.

They argued that poor connectivity was holding back the northern economy, and they used press campaigns, public petitions, and local events to push for a better transport deal from national government.

And the campaign influenced national debate and led to a revision of the national government's transport strategy in the North.

It also brought national media attention to regional inequality, pushing it up the political agenda.

These examples show the relationship between local government and national government, and they highlight how the work of one can influence the other.

Local governments can provide detailed knowledge of the issues impacting their citizens, and they can advise national government departments.

This two-way relationship strengthens democracy and ensures that national policies are informed by local needs, making them more effective.

Let's have a check for understanding: Identify and correct the mistake in each sentence.

So one with have: "These examples show the relationship between local government and national government and highlights how the work of one is separate to the other." Two: "Local governments don't understand the issues impacting their citizens, so cannot advise national government departments." And three: "This two-way relationship weakens democracy." So pause while you have a go identifying and correcting the mistake in each sentence.

So here you go.

You can see there that the mistake is highlighted in green.

So, in one, the mistake was that it's "separate to the other." In two, it's "local governments don't understand the issues, so cannot advise national government." And three was that it "weakens democracy." So in green were the mistakes, and let's just remind ourselves what they should have looked like.

So these examples show the relationship between local government and national government and highlight how the work of one can influence the other.

Local governments can provide detailed knowledge of the issues impacting their citizens and advise national government departments.

And this two-way relationship strengthens democracy.

For task B, I'd like you to explain how local government influences national government by: delivering services, providing local knowledge, influencing national perception, and campaigning and lobbying.

Pause while you have a go at task B.

When explaining how local government influences national government, you may have included: Local government influences national government in a number of important ways.

Firstly, by delivering services like housing, social care, and education.

Councils show how well national policies work in real life.

For example, Manchester's homelessness project shows how local government could support people experiencing homelessness.

In turn, this could create public discussion about what the national government could be doing on a much wider national scale.

Secondly, local councils have strong local knowledge.

They understand what local people need and can tell national government what is working and what isn't.

This can help politicians make decisions that are based on real-life experiences.

You may have also included: Thirdly, local government can influence national perception of politics, especially through election results.

If a political party loses a lot of seats in local elections, it signals to both the public and politicians that voters are dissatisfied with national policies.

This might persuade the national government to change its approach.

For example, the Conservative Party lost over 470 council seats in the 2024 local elections, which mirrored their subsequent defeat in the general election.

Lastly, local government influence national government by campaigning and lobbying.

For example, after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, London councils lobbied the national government to improve building safety laws, which led to the Building Safety Act 2022.

This shows how local governments can help create new national laws by standing up for their communities.

In summary of the lesson "What Does National Government Have to Do with Local Government?" National government influences local government by making the laws, providing funding, setting national policies, and deciding what powers local councils have.

Local government influences national government by delivering services to local people, identifying local issues, and giving feedback that can help shape national decisions and policies.

Local and national government rely on each other to make sure the country runs smoothly.

This two-way relationship strengthens democracy and ensures that national policies are informed by local needs, making them more effective.

That brings us to the end of this lesson.

Well done for all of your hard work, and I hope that you'll come back for some more citizenship lessons in the future.