A typical day's business in the Commons Chamber.

Task 5. How are the functions of Parliament reflected in the procedures of the day?

As an example, we have taken Wednesday 14 March 2001.

2.30 pmPrayers

2.32 pm Question time: on this day the Secretary of State for International Development was scheduled to answer questions.

3.00 pm Because it was a Wednesday, the Prime Minister answered questions for the last half hour of question time.

3.30 pm Private Notice Question - The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport was asked to make a statement on the consequences of Foot and Mouth Disease for the rural tourism industry.

4.34 pm Points of order were raised, which the Speaker dealt with.

4.40 pm A Officials was introduced by Tony Colman MP (Putney) under the Ten Minute Rule procedure. The bill received its First Reading and a date was set for its Second Reading.

4.57 pm A motion to approve a report from the Liaison Committee was agreed to without a division.

4.58 pm Report stage of the Criminal Justice and Police Bill, when the Bill, as amended in Standing Committee, was considered by the whole House.

6.53 pm There was a division on a proposed new clause to the Bill, after which the debate continued.

7.23 pm The Deputy Speaker briefly interrupted the debate to announce the results of three divisions which had been deferred from a previous day's business.

8.01 pm Another division on a proposed new clause to the Bill, after which the debate continued.

8.31pm The House proceeded to debate the Third Reading of the Bill.

9.59 pm The Bill was read the Third time and passed by the House.

11.20 pm At the end of the debate, (given the lateness of the hour), a division on the motion was deferred until the following Wednesday.

11.22 pm A number of draft regulations were approved without debate or division, followed by a series of motions concerning the business of the House which were objected to.

11.25 pm Adjournment debate - Robert Jackson MP (Wantage) raised the question of planning in Oxfordshire.

11.53 pm The House rose.

Task 6. Analyse the relations between the three branches of power. Are they separated as in the USA? It is recommended to do this task in small groups of 5 – 6 people.

Task 7. Compare the structure and functions of British Parliament and those of the Russian Federal Assembly. For reference turn to the text of the Russian Federation Constitution in English, Chapter 5. Use the web site www.departments.bucknell.edu/ russian/const/constit.html

Task 8. Self Assessment. What facts would you choose to make your talk to your future 6^th or 7^th form pupils interesting ? Make a script of an extra curriculum event. If it is an ordinary school the script should be in Russian.

Unit 5. Political Parties and Government basic facts:

• Her Majesty's Government : the body of ministers responsible for the conduct of national affairs. The Prime Minister and all other ministers, including the Cabinet, are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

• The Cabinet : composed of about 20 ministers, although the number can vary. They are chosen by the Prime Minister and may include departmental and non-departmental ministers.

• Alongside with the Central Government, the executive branch of power is represented by the varied forms of Local government.

• The political party system: an essential element in the working of the British government. The present system depends upon the existence of organized political parties, each of which presents its policies to the electorate for approval.

• The Labour and the Conservative Parties: the two main parties in Britain .

• Liberal Democrats: the third largest political party.

Task1. Before reading the whole text, look through the titles and phrases in bold type. How many are already known to you? Then read the text for detail.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

The Prime Minister is, by tradition, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. The Prime Minister's unique position of authority derives from majority support in the House of Commons and from the power to appoint and dismiss ministers. By modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the distribution of duties among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of the current workings of the Government. The Prime Minister's other responsibilities include recommending a number of appointments to the Queen. These include Church appointments (archbishops, bishops, deans), senior judges, Privy Counsellors and other officials. The Prime Minister also makes recommendations for the award of many civil honours and distinctions. The Prime Minister's Office is at 10 Downing Street, the official residence in London. It is there that the Cabinet often meets in private and its proceedings are confidential. Its members are bound by their oath as Privy Counsellors not to disclose any information. Normally the Cabinet meets each week during parliamentary sittings, and rather less often when Parliament is not sitting. The Cabinet Office is headed by the Secretary of the Cabinet, a civil servant who is also Head of the Home Civil Service, under the direction of the Prime Minister. It comprises the Cabinet Secretariat and the Office of Public Service and Science (OPSS). The Cabinet Secretariat serves ministers collectively in the conduct of Cabinet business. A great deal of work is carried on through the committee system. A standing Cabinet committee or a committee composed of the ministers directly concerned considers a certain issue in detail and then reports upon it to the Cabinet with recommendations for action. The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, the supreme control of government and the co-ordination of government departments. The exercise of these functions is vitally affected by the fact that the Cabinet is a group of party representatives, depending upon majority support in the House of Commons. The Cabinet acts unanimously even when Cabinet ministers do not all agree on a subject. This is known as the doctrine of collective responsibility. The same is true about other ministers. Once the Government's policy has been decided, each minister is expected to support it or resign. The individual responsibility of ministers for the work of their departments means that they are answerable to Parliament for all their departments' activities.

Ministers and Civil Servants

Departmental Ministers are Ministers in charge of government departments, usually in the Cabinet; they are known as 'Secretary of State' or 'Minister', or may have a special title, as in the case of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the Minister of Finances). The work of some departments, for instance, the Ministry of Defence, covers Britain as a whole. Other departments, such as the Department of Social Security, cover England, Wales and Scotland, but not Northern Ireland. Others, such as the Department of the Environment, are mainly concerned with affairs in England. Some departments, such as the Department of Trade and Industry, maintain a regional organisation, and some which have direct contact with the public throughout the country, for example, the Department of Employment, also have local offices. Government departments and their agencies, staffed by politically neutral civil servants, are the main instruments for implementing government policy when Parliament has passed the necessary legislation, and for advising ministers. They often work alongside local authorities, statutory boards, and government-sponsored organisations operating under various degrees of government control. People serving in Ministries are known as Civil Servants. The Civil Service is anonymous, permanent and politically neutral. Many Civil Servants were educated in Public schools. The Civil Service is concerned with the conduct of the whole range of government activities as they affect the community. These range from policy formulation to carrying out the day-to-day duties of public administration.

Ministers of State usually work with ministers in charge of departments. They normally have specific responsibilities, and are sometimes given titles, which reflect these functions. A Minister of State may be given a seat in the Cabinet and be paid accordingly. Junior Ministers - generally Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State or, where the senior minister is not a Secretary of State, simply Parliamentary Secretaries - share in parliamentary and departmental duties.

Non-Departmental Ministers are the holders of various traditional offices, namely, the Lord Privy Seal, the Paymaster General and, from time to time, Ministers without Portfolio, may have few or no department duties. They are therefore available to perform any duties the Prime Minister may wish to give them.