V.

Government

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy based on an unwritten constitution that has evolved over centuries. It comprises statute law, common law (judicial precedent), and custom and can be altered by act of Parliament, general agreement, and judicial precedent and is thus adaptable to changing political conditions. The principles of the constitution and of constitutional practice are inherent in the institutions of government, which overlap in function but which can be clearly distinguished. They are the Crown, the government and Cabinet, the Privy Council, and Parliament.

A.

The Monarchy

The British sovereign is head of state and as such is, in law, the head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Crown, and the “supreme governor” of the established Church of England and the Church of Scotland. In addition, the British monarch is head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of 16 Commonwealth countries. The monarchy is hereditary, descending to the sons of the sovereign in order of birth, or to the daughters if there are no sons. Under the Act of Settlement (1700) only Protestant descendants of Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover and granddaughter of James I of England and VI of Scotland, are eligible to succeed. The present monarch, Elizabeth II, succeeded to the throne on February 6, 1952, on the death of her father George VI. The heir to the throne is her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales.

The monarchy is the oldest institution of government, dating back to the Saxon King Egbert. However, its once absolute powers have been progressively reduced, and today the sovereign acts on the advice of ministers, which constitutionally cannot be ignored. In practice, this means that Britain today is governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen and with the approval of Parliament. Within this framework the monarch has specific functions that are considered essential to constitutional government in Britain. Because of this, legal provision has been made for a regent to be appointed should the sovereign become incapacitated or be under age. These functions include summoning, proroguing, and dissolving Parliament, and giving the royal assent to bills passed by both houses of Parliament; without this assent bills cannot become law.

The monarch also formally appoints the prime minister and government, as well as judges, officers in the armed forces, governors, diplomats, and archbishops, bishops, and other senior Church of England clergy. The monarch confers honours and awards, and has the sole power, as head of state, to declare war and make peace, to recognize foreign states, and to conclude treaties. In terms of the day-to-day working of government, the monarch has the right to be consulted on all aspects of national life and must show complete impartiality; Elizabeth II chairs meetings of the Privy Council (see below), meets regularly with the prime minister, receives accounts of Cabinet decisions, reads despatches, and signs state papers.

B.

The Executive

The executive functions of government, although nominally vested in the monarch, are in practice carried out by Her (or His) Majesty’s Government, comprising a body of ministers, headed by a prime minister and dependent on the support of the majority of members of the elected lower house of Parliament (the House of Commons). Normally this means that the government is formed by the majority party in the Commons, and the prime minister is the leader of the majority party. However, in modern times governments have sometimes been formed by coalitions of the main parties, notably during the two World Wars, or by a party with no overall majority in the Commons—as between 1974 and 1979 when a minority Labour Party government was able to stay in power because the Liberal Party generally voted with it.

The office of prime minister began to develop in the 18th century during the administration of Robert Walpole, but was not constitutionally recognized until 1905. The prime minister, who is formally appointed by the monarch, chooses the government ministers who are usually from the Commons, but can also be from the House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament. By modern convention the prime minister is always a member of the Commons, and by tradition is also First Lord of the Treasury and minister for the civil service. The prime minister’s responsibilities also include recommending many of the appointments nominally within the sovereign’s gift, including those of senior Church of England clergy and judges, privy counsellors, the Poet Laureate, and the Constable of the Tower of London.

Ministers who are heads of government departments are normally known as secretaries of state; some have historic titles, such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Secretaries of state are supported by ministers of state, and by junior ministers, known as parliamentary under-secretaries of state or parliamentary secretaries.

Supreme government authority is vested in the Cabinet, which decides and implements policy and coordinates government departments. It normally numbers between 15 and 20 members chosen by the prime minister and approved by the monarch. It comprises the secretaries of state; a number of non-departmental ministers who hold traditional offices (such as the Lord President of the Council, the Paymaster General, and the Lord Privy Seal); and also, at times, ministers of state.

Cabinet government developed during the 18th century from informal meetings of Privy Counsellors who were also government ministers, and who found that decision-making was easier and more efficient in a relatively small committee. Key doctrines of Cabinet government are collective and ministerial responsibility. Collective responsibility means that the Cabinet acts unanimously, even when Cabinet ministers do not all agree upon a subject.

The policy of departmental ministers must be consistent with that of the government as a whole. Ministerial responsibility means that ministers are responsible for the work of their departments and are answerable to Parliament for their departments’ activities. They bear the consequences of any failure of their department in terms of administration or policy.

Before the development of the Cabinet system the Privy Council was the chief source of executive power; its origins can be traced back to the court of the Norman monarchs. Most of its former functions have been taken over by the Cabinet and today it is mainly responsible for advising the monarch on the approval of Orders in Council, of which there are two kinds: those which are made by virtue of the royal prerogative, for example the ratification of treaties, or the granting of royal charters of incorporation; and those which are authorized by act of Parliament.

The Privy Council also advises on the issue of royal proclamations, such as the summoning or dissolving of Parliament. Membership is conferred for life and comprises all current Cabinet ministers, surviving former Cabinet ministers, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and eminent public figures (mainly judges and politicians) from Britain and the independent monarchies of the Commonwealth. At present there are about 400 privy counsellors.

The Privy Council has a number of committees. They include those dealing with legislation from the crown dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and the judicial committee. One of the most important Privy Council committees, the judicial committee is the final court of appeal from courts of the British dependent territories, the Crown dependencies, and of certain independent members of the Commonwealth.

C.

The Legislature

The British legislature, Parliament, is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world. It originated in the need of early medieval English monarchs to raise additional finance, mainly to prosecute wars. For this they needed the consent, initially, of the great feudal magnates, the barons, meeting several times a year in the Great Council; the first mention of the term “parliament”, in 1236, refers to meetings of these nobles. However, such funds as the barons agreed to provide quickly proved insufficient to meet the expenses of government. By the end of the 13th century representatives of the counties and towns were also being summoned to the Great Council to give consent to emergency taxation.

By the end of the 15th century Parliament existed in a form recognizable today. That is, it was a body whose function was to agree to taxes and to legislate, and which comprised two separate chambers—those who were representatives of communities (the House of Commons) and those who were summoned by name (the House of Lords). However, it took several centuries of power struggles between these two chambers and with the monarch to produce Britain’s contemporary parliamentary structure.

Constitutionally, Britain’s supreme legislative authority is the “Crown in Parliament”. This means that for legislation to become law it must be approved by all three elements which make up Parliament: the monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The monarch’s royal assent has been given automatically for around the past 300 years, while the House of Lords has today no more than delaying power over certain types of legislation.

The House of Lords is made up of the lords temporal and the lords spiritual. The former comprise the hereditary peers; life peers created to assist the house in its judicial duties, the lords of appeal or “law lords”; and other life peers, usually appointed in recognition of their service in politics or other walks of life. The lords of appeal comprise the court of last resort on matters which can be brought to the House of Lords. The lords spiritual are the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, and the 21 next most senior diocesan bishops of the Church of England. In April 2006 there were more than 600 members of the House of Lords. Only three members are required for a quorum.

Legislation introduced by the new Labour government went some way towards abolishing the structure of the Lords in its present form. Hereditary Lords were abolished under The House of Lords Act 1999 (all excepting 90 chosen by their fellow members). In April 2001 the first new Lords were selected, chosen by committee.

Legislation can be first introduced in the Lords by the government. However, fiscal legislation is always, and other legislation is usually, introduced first in the House of Commons. Once approved by the Commons, bills pass to the Lords for discussion; no vote is necessary in the Lords to pass legislation. Since the Parliament Act of 1911, the Lords has been unable to block fiscal legislation. By the terms of the Parliament Act of 1949 the Lords may not disapprove other bills if they have been passed by two successive sessions of the House of Commons. In practice, this means that the Lords can delay a bill for up to about a year. The exception to this is any bill to lengthen the life of a Parliament, which requires the full assent of both chambers.

These limitations on the Lords’ powers are based on the belief that the legislative function of the non-elected house in a modern democracy is to act as a revision chamber comparatively free from party politics, and complementing the House of Commons. Notwithstanding this, and the attempts to widen the membership of the Lords through the introduction of the system of life peerages, there has been continued pressure for its abolition and replacement by some form of elected second chamber.

Members of the House of Commons are elected by universal suffrage from geographical constituencies. The voting age was lowered to 18 in 1969; voting is not compulsory. Those not eligible for election to the Commons include members of the House of Lords, selected clergy, government contractors, sheriffs, and certain designated election officials. The basis of representation depends on the total number of seats agreed on by a process unique to the House of Commons and on the total population of the nation.

In Great Britain, each constituency approximates a population of 60,000. In Northern Ireland, with 18 representatives, the population base is somewhat larger. Total membership of the Commons numbers 646 following the 2005 election. To ensure that electoral boundaries are politically fair and constituency electorates are kept roughly equal, four permanent boundary commissions, one for each country, keep the situation under review. Changes are made usually every 8 to 12 years. The latest changes, announced in 2005, involved absorption of some constituencies in Scotland to take the total of seats from 72 to 59.

By law, the life of a Parliament is five years unless dissolved earlier or extended by special statute in times of war or national emergency. Parliament is dissolved by the sovereign at the end of its five-year term or on the advice of the prime minister. All members of the House of Commons are then subject to re-election. Traditionally, the Speaker of the House, though an MP and a member of a political party, is considered impartial in dealings in the House of Commons and therefore in general elections faces no opposition for re-election in his or her constituency.

Although any member of Parliament may propose a bill, most legislation is initiated by the Cabinet minister responsible for the department concerned. Acts passed by Parliament tend to be worded in general terms; they are implemented, with the specification of detailed provisions, by Orders in Council, prepared by the minister responsible and promulgated by proclamation of the Crown. The Cabinet, under the doctrine of collective responsibility, acts as a unit. The defeat of important legislation or a vote of no confidence usually brings about the resignation of the entire Cabinet and a general election. The prime minister may drop individual Cabinet members entirely or reassign (“reshuffle”) them as preferred. This power helps to maintain the prime minister’s leadership and is exercised in most governments from time to time. Ministers may resign their posts without leaving Parliament.

Because of the dominant role of the Cabinet, the House of Commons did not have specialized committees, in the style of the Congress of the United States, until recently. Beginning in 1979, however, a pattern of committees specialized in function has emerged. These select committees provide detailed debate and consideration rather than only general review and approval, and have come to play an increasingly important role in the functioning of Parliament.

D.

Political Parties

The political party system, dating from the late 17th century, is an essential element in the working constitution. A number of parties win seats in the Commons, but Britain has functioned basically as a two-party system for more than a century. The majority party forms Her (or His) Majesty’s Government, and the second party is officially recognized as Her (or His) Majesty’s Own Loyal Opposition. The opposition leader is paid a salary from public funds for this role.

Since the end of World War I, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party have been dominant. The Labour Party, generally socialist until the 1990s when it moved towards the political centre, began a programme of nationalization of selected industries after an overwhelming election victory in May 1945. The party was formed in 1900 as the political arm of the trade unions, initially receiving its intellectual impetus from the Fabian Society. Labour has drawn financial and electoral support from both groups, but primarily the trade unions, although changes in the party constitution in recent years have considerably reduced union influence over policy.

The Conservative Party has favoured private enterprise with increasingly minimal state regulation. After World War II it accepted social programmes, such as the Beveridge Plan for an extensive social-insurance programme. The National Health Service (NHS) continues to draw very broad popular support, and efforts during the 1980s by the Conservative government to reform it so as to reduce costs and introduce market mechanisms met with considerable opposition.

The Liberal Party, which provided governments throughout much of the 19th century, began losing electoral support after the formation of the Labour Party. It last formed a government from 1906 to 1915, and was a dominant member of the coalition government formed at the start of World War I. It merged in 1988 with the Social Democratic Party (formed by Labour dissidents) to form the Liberal Democrat Party.

Other parties include the Scottish Nationalist Party; Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalist); and the Northern Irish parties: the Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and Sinn Féin. All but Sinn Féin have representatives in the House of Commons (Sinn Féin’s five MPs after the 2005 general election—including Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness—decided not to take their seats at Westminster but as from 2002 were entitled to take offices there). Other significant parties outside Parliament include the Communist and Green parties and the recently formed United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), but prospective MPs may stand on any electoral platform and for any party they wish to submit. The first-past-the-post electoral system is used in Britain.

In the general election held on May 5, 2005, the Labour Party saw its majority cut significantly, gaining 35.2 per cent of the vote and 356 parliamentary seats. The Conservative Party won 197 seats (32.3 per cent overall share of the vote). The Liberal Democrats yet again increased their number of seats, to 62 (22.0 per cent overall share of the vote). Other seats were won by the minor parties, most notably by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, who increased their number of MPs by four and one respectively. The Labour Party continued to dominate party politics in Wales, and also in Scotland, where the political boundaries were redrawn and the number of constituencies fell from 72 to 59. Nationwide the turnout was 61.3 per cent, an increase of 3.3 per cent over the 2001 figure. A boost to the figures was put down to the widespread use of postal voting, although a large proportion of the population still remained either apathetic or deliberately abstained as a protest against the state of current politics.

The discrepancy between popular support for the smaller parties and their Parliamentary representation has led to calls for the introduction of proportional representation, spearheaded by the Liberal Democrats.

In May 1999 elections were held for the new Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, created under new Labour government legislation. The elections were run under the first-past-the-post electoral system and a form of proportional representation known as the additional member system. In neither election was an outright majority won by any party. In the 129-seat Scottish Parliament, Labour won 56 seats; Scottish Nationalist Party, 35; Conservatives, 18; the Liberal Democrats, 17; Greens, 1; and others, 2. In the election for the 60 seats of the Welsh Assembly Labour won 28 seats; Plaid Cymru, 17; the Conservatives, 9; and the Liberal Democrats, 6. Members of the Westminster parliament can also participate as MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) or as Welsh Assembly members.

Since 1999 Northern Ireland has re-established a parliament of 108 MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly): as from the election of 2003 the Democratic Unionist Party has 30 seats; the Ulster Unionist Party, 27; Sinn Féin, 24; the Social Democratic and Labour Party, 18; and smaller parties, 9.

E.

Judiciary

England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all have their own legal systems with significant differences in law, organization, and practice. All three have separate prosecution, prison, and police services. Scotland’s civil court and civil law systems differ from the system in England and Wales; that of Northern Ireland is similar in many ways to that of England and Wales. Common law, or judicial precedent, however, is important in all systems. In addition, European community law, deriving from Britain’s membership of the EU, takes precedence over domestic law in certain areas, primarily related to economic and social matters. The judiciary in all countries, however, is independent of the government. For further information see Code: British Codes; Courts; England: Population: English Law; Scotland: Government: Judiciary. See also Law in Northern Ireland and Scottish Law.

F.

Local Government

The government of Britain is unitary in structure. This means that the powers of local government derive from Parliamentary acts, and responsibility for the overall administration of the country rests within specified Cabinet ministries. The independence of local authorities, in terms of budgets and spending, and also to some extent policy, is thus limited by laws and policies made in London, and has been made more so by local government reforms since 1980.

A major reorganization of local government became effective in England and Wales in 1974, and in Scotland in 1975. The former counties and county boroughs were succeeded by a simplified, generally two-tier system. In England and Wales (excluding Greater London), the county concept was retained, but with considerable restructuring. In all, 53 counties with councils were created, subdivided into 369 districts with councils. Six of England’s counties, covering major urban areas, were designated metropolitan counties; the remainder were known as non-metropolitan or shire counties. In London there was a Greater London Council with, below it, councils for each of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London.

In Scotland the counties were replaced on the mainland by 9 regions with councils, subdivided into 53 districts with councils. Three all-purpose unitary island authorities were created for the Orkneys, Shetlands, and the Western Isles. In Northern Ireland a single-tier system was introduced, with 26 districts.

Councillors are elected for four years, with elections taking place on a staggered basis both within councils and between different kinds of councils.

Substantial changes in local government were introduced by the Conservative government in the 1980s. The Greater London Council and six metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of their functions were transferred to the individual London boroughs and the metropolitan district councils respectively. However, in some areas, functions crossed administrative boundaries and joint authorities were established for waste regulation and disposal, the fire services, and (outside London) public transport.

There is no constitutional division of powers between central and local authorities in Britain, but overall, local government is responsible for police and fire services, education (except with regard to grant maintained schools), libraries, roads, traffic, housing, building regulations, and environmental health. Direct participation of local councils in the provision of many of these services was reduced by government regulation during the 1980s. Most council services are now required to be put out to competitive tender, cutting the councils’ directly employed workforce. Reforms in education have increased the autonomy of individual schools, while changes in public housing legislation have given council house tenants the right to buy their houses, encouraged the development of housing associations, and established independent housing action trusts to run certain council estates.

The autonomy of councils has also been affected by changes in the financing of local government. The Conservative government introduced strict controls over local government spending. After 1984 it had the power to limit or “cap” local authority budgets, by setting a maximum amount of expenditure for local authorities that had set excessive budgets. It also changed the basis of allocation of central government funds to local councils.

In April 1990 the long-established system of local rates, or property taxes, was replaced by a community charge, which was quickly labelled the “poll tax”. This deeply unpopular tax produced intense political debate and riots in London; it was replaced in 1992 with a part property-based tax, called the council tax.

G.

Unitary Authorities

More wide-ranging reorganization of local government in Great Britain came into effect on April 1, 1996. Under the changes, which primarily affected Scotland and Wales, the two-tier structure of local government introduced in 1974 and 1975 was replaced by a system of all-purpose, single-tier authorities, or unitary authorities. Under the provisions of the Local Government Etc. (Scotland) Bill 1994, the 62 regional and district councils on the Scottish mainland were replaced by 29 unitary authorities; the three island authorities remained unchanged. Four of the new unitary authorities—Scottish Borders (formerly Borders), Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, and Highland—retained the names and administrative boundaries of the preceding regions, combining their regional and district councils. The other five regions vanished from the map, however, and were replaced by unitary authorities, which for the most part are coterminous with the former district councils. The former Central, Grampian, and Tayside regions are now each administered by three unitary authorities; the former Lothian region by four. The former Strathclyde region, which encompassed the most populous part of Scotland, was divided into 12 unitary authorities.

In Wales, the 8 county and 37 district councils established in 1974 were replaced by 22 unitary authorities, divided equally between counties and county boroughs; the populations of the latter tend to be mainly urban. Only Powys of the 1975 counties retained its name, although its boundaries were expanded to include the southernmost part of the former county of Clwyd. The other seven counties were divided into 21 county and county borough unitary authorities. The county boroughs, which are concentrated in South Wales, the most heavily populated part of the country, generally conform to the boundaries of the old district councils.

The local government system in parts of England is also being changed to a unitary system, based on the recommendations of a local government commission established under the provisions of the 1992 Local Government Act. Initially it was anticipated that the unitary system that has existed since 1986 in Greater London and the former metropolitan counties—Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire—would be extended to cover the 39 non-metropolitan, or shire counties. However, the commission, which completed its report in 1994, proposed less far-reaching changes that resulted in a mixture of existing two-tier with new single-tier authorities.

The changes have been implemented in stages; the first of the new unitary authorities, for the Isle of Wight, came into effect in April 1995. On April 1, 1996, a unitary system was introduced in three more counties: Avon, Cleveland, and Humberside. At the same time, a unitary authority was introduced for the city of York, formerly in North Yorkshire; the remainder of the county has retained its two-tier system. Another ten counties underwent administrative changes in 1997, mainly in line with the changes in North Yorkshire: the main urban areas were made unitary authorities, with the remainder of the county retaining the two-tier system.

On April 1, 1998, a total of 19 new unitary authorities were created, with 10 counties affected. Berkshire county was abolished and in its place six unitary authorities were formed: Slough, Reading, Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire, Wokingham, and Windsor and Maidenhead. Reverting back to pre-1974 boundaries and titles in Hereford and Worcester, Herefordshire unitary authority was created (Worcestershire in the east retained a county title). In Lancashire, Blackpool became a unitary authority as did the borough of Blackburn, which was renamed Blackburn with Darwen. In Kent, Gillingham and Rochester-upon-Medway merged to form Medway. The cities of Nottingham and Peterborough split from Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire (respectively). In Devon two unitary authorities were created: Plymouth and Torbay. The towns of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock in Essex each became a new authority, as did Warrington and Halton in Cheshire. In Shropshire, the new unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin was created.

The changes have been controversial. The changeover was extremely costly at a time when local government finances were, and still are, under great strain. Another controversial element was the fact that local councils in Great Britain became increasingly controlled by parties opposed to the then ruling Conservative Party, which initiated the local government reforms. The Conservative government was thus accused by its opponents of making the changes in an attempt to erode further the power of local authorities by reducing their size and, consequently, their income.

H.

Health and Welfare

Health care for the vast majority of British people is still provided through the National Health Service (NHS). Established in 1948, the NHS is financed through general taxation, with national insurance payments contributing some 10 per cent of the total cost. It provides full, and in most cases, free or low-cost medical care. Patients who are exempted—children, women during pregnancy and in the first year after childbirth, people in receipt of state unemployment or other benefits, and people with certain chronic, life-threatening conditions—pay no charges for prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and spectacles, dentures, and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations. Those who are not exempted have to pay charges, which have risen steadily since the 1970s and in some circumstances are now equivalent to the full cost of the medicine or treatment. Hospital care, however, is still free of charge. In 1995 15 per cent of government expenditure was spent on health.

Most general practitioners in Britain are part of the NHS (although some also have private patients), as are most pharmacists and medical specialists, such as surgeons, consultants, radiologists, and physiotherapists. However, the number of dentists offering NHS services has declined dramatically since the late 1980s, linked primarily to a change in government payments to dentists for NHS treatments.

In 1993 Great Britain had 92,474 doctors and 283,814 hospital beds. The approximate ratios for these figures are 601 people for every doctor and a 238 people for each hospital bed. The infant mortality rate in 2008 stood at 5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy in 2008 was 76.4 years for men and 81.5 years for women.

Under the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, the Conservative government introduced wide-ranging, and often highly controversial, changes to the management of the NHS and in the provision of patient care. Health authorities and health boards were made purchasers of health care on behalf of their patients, receiving funds to purchase health care through contracts with hospitals and other health service units in either the public or private sector. Hospitals at present are directly funded on the basis of the number of patients they treat, and may apply to become self-governing trusts independent of local authority control, but still within the health service. Under this system general practitioners from larger medical practices are eligible to apply to become fundholders, which means they receive an annual budget direct from the health authority enabling them to buy certain hospital services for their patients.

The Conservative government’s aim for the reforms was to increase efficiency through the introduction of a “market” to the NHS, and to improve patient care and choice, in conjunction with a Patient’s Charter which sets out targets for maximum waiting times for hospital admissions for non-urgent treatment, and government encouragement for more people to take out private health insurance.

The many critics of the reforms have alleged that the changes have introduced a two-tier NHS, with patients in fundholding practices receiving quicker treatment than those in traditional practices; the new hospital trusts have been criticized for not being sufficiently accountable for their spending and for their admissions policies.

The national insurance system, which was put into full operation in 1948, but has undergone many changes in the 1980s, provides benefits for industrial injuries, illness, unemployment, maternity costs, and children, as well as allowances for guardians and widows, retirement pensions, and death payments. Retirement benefits are paid to men at the age of 65 and to women at the age of 60 at present. However, the retirement ages are to be equalized at 65, with the changeover being introduced gradually from 2010. Family allowances are payable for all children up to the ages of 16, or until 18 if the child remains in full-time education. Housing benefit is the responsibility of local authorities, who assess claimants on a means-tested basis.

The insurance system assists the needy through weekly cash benefits and special services for the disabled. Most of these services are financed partly through compulsory weekly contributions by employers and employees and partly through a contribution by the government out of general taxation, and almost all are means tested. Expenditures on social security and the NHS accounted for about 38 per cent of the annual national budget during 1995-1996. See also National Health Insurance: Great Britain.

I.

Defence

Britain, one of the world powers that possesses nuclear weapons, sits on the (currently) five-nation UN Security Council. Its strategic nuclear deterrent is based, as submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, on the Royal Navy Trident submarines, and as free-fall nuclear weapons on Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers, although free-fall bombs are to be taken out of service.

Britain depends for its basic security on NATO and therefore makes a major contribution to maintaining NATO’s defence posture. Defence policy is determined by the full Cabinet or Defence and Overseas Policy Committee headed by the prime minister, and including the Secretary of State for Defence, the Foreign Secretary, and the Home Secretary. In 1964 the three armed services were unified under the newly created post of Secretary of State for Defence.

The Defence Council, including the Secretary of State for Defence, the Chief of Staff for each of the three services, the Chief Scientific Adviser for Defence, and the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, exercises powers of command and administrative control. Britain is the only EU nation to impose a ban on homosexuals serving in the forces, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 1995. Since the late 1980s, and the end of the Cold War between the Western powers and the Eastern bloc, defence policy has been reassessed and the armed forces reduced significantly in size. British forces have served in various full-scale conflicts of recent times, namely the Falklands War in 1982, the Gulf War in 1991, in Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, and in the War on Iraq in 2003.

The British Army is controlled by the Defence Council through an Army Board composed of both civilian and military members. Active members of the Army are volunteers who have enlisted for 22 years. Under a plan introduced in 1972, however, Army personnel may choose to serve for only three years. In 2004 the regular Army numbered 116,760 men and women, including 4,400 Gurkhas. A voluntary national reserve force, the Territorial Army, has an establishment of more than 40,000 (2002) and may be called out in time of emergency.

The British navy, known as the Royal Navy, is governed by the Admiralty Board under the Secretary of State for Defence. In 1993 and 1994 there were major cuts, changes, and rationalizations in Navy personnel and equipment, including vessels. Fleet strength was reduced until 1996, when operational strength was 3 Trident (strategic) submarines, 12 nuclear submarines, 2 aircraft carriers, and about 35 destroyers and frigates. Naval craft in 2003 included 3 aircraft carriers, 11 destroyers, 11 frigates, and 16 (including 12 nuclear-powered) submarines. By 2004 regular naval personnel had been reduced to 40,630, compared with 50,500 in 1995 and 63,500 before 1993.

The Royal Flying Corps was established in 1912; in 1914 the naval wing of the corps became the Royal Naval Air Service, and in 1918 the two were amalgamated as the RAF. Since 1964 the RAF has been under the unified Ministry of Defence. It is administered by the Air Force Board, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. The RAF is organized into home and overseas commands. In 2004 RAF personnel numbered 48,500. In 1992 women became eligible to fly combat aircraft and the Women’s Royal Air Force was merged with the RAF in 1994.

Some 45,000 British troops were deployed abroad at the beginning of 1997. Contingents were serving in Cyprus, Germany, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, and Gibraltar. British forces had left Hong Kong by July 1997. In mid-1995 contingents of British troops were also serving in a wide variety of United Nations operations including Bosnia, the former Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Angola, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Iraq. See also British Army; British Navy; Royal Air Force; and Royal Marines.

J.

International Organizations

The United Kingdom is a major player on the international stage, not least through its seat on the Security Council of the United Nations, its relations with former colonies through the Commonwealth of Nations, and its position as one of the major countries within the EU. Other international organizations to which it belongs are the OECD, the G-8, the Council of Europe, the Western European Union (WEU), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and NATO.