How does the Government control debt?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how national debt is managed and how it affects individuals.
Key learning points
- The UK Government manages national debt by borrowing money, raising taxes and adjusting public spending.
- If debt is too high, austerity measures may be used, meaning cuts to services like education and healthcare.
- High national debt can lead to increased taxes, higher interest rates and rising costs for essentials.
- National debt affects individuals by making it harder to afford housing, transport and everyday living expenses.
- Careful management of national debt is needed to balance economic stability with public safety and wellbeing.
Keywords
National debt - an amount of money owed by the Government that has effects on the country's economy
Austerity - a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases or a combination of both
Common misconception
The UK Government must pay debt off completely, like a household paying off a loan.
Governments often carry debt indefinitely and focus on managing it rather than eliminating it. As long as the Government can afford interest payments and investors have confidence in its ability to repay, borrowing can continue.
Teacher tip
To encourage critical thinking and engagement with the topic, you could hold a deliberative debate on how the UK Government should manage national debt. Assign groups different solutions (e.g., raising taxes, austerity, borrowing or economic growth) and have them defend their choice.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which is not a reason why responsible borrowing is important for individuals and the economy?
Q2.Who do government regulations protect from unfair lending and high interest debt traps?
Q3.Match the word to the correct definition.
receiving money from a lender with the agreement to pay it back later
amount of money owed by an individual or organisation to a lender
handling threats to an organisation's capital and earnings
Q4.Complete the sentence: The UK Government borrows to support public spending, infrastructure and economic stability during .
Q5.What does borrowing not allow the Government to do?
Q6.Complete the sentence: Responsible borrowing and awareness of financial __________ help individuals and the economy stay secure.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How does national debt affect individuals?
Q2.Careful management of __________ debt is needed to balance economic stability with public safety and wellbeing.
Q3.Match the word to the correct definition.
amount of money owed by the Government that affects the economy
policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits
a rate charged by a lender of money to a borrower
Q4.When lose confidence in the UK Government’s ability to manage national debt, they may demand higher interest rates on government borrowing.
Q5.What do governments often focus on regarding national debt?
Q6.Which is not a way that the Bank of England helps manage debt through monetary policies?
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How does the Government control debt?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How does the Government control debt?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the What has the UK economy got to do with me? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.