Making Law, the Constitution and Devolution
How does a bill become law? What is the UK constitution, and how does devolution share power across the nations? Work through law-making, the constitution and devolution.
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How laws are made
How are laws made in the UK, and what rules shape our system of government? This module covers how a bill becomes law, the UK's uncodified constitution, and devolution across the nations of the UK.
Key terms
Learn these before you begin:
How a bill becomes law
Put the main stages of how a bill becomes law in order.
- First reading: the bill is introduced
- Second reading: MPs debate its main principles
- Committee stage: a committee examines it in detail
- The bill passes through the House of Lords
- Royal assent: the monarch approves it and it becomes law
What is royal assent?
What is royal assent?
- The monarch formally approves a bill so it becomes law
- A debate between MPs in the Commons
- A public vote on a new law
- A committee examining a bill line by line
The UK constitution
The UK has an uncodified constitution: its rules are not written in a single document, but come from laws, conventions and court cases. A key principle is parliamentary sovereignty, meaning Parliament is the supreme law-making body and can make or change any law.
Constitution terms
- Uncodified constitution
- Parliamentary sovereignty
- Judicial review
- Royal assent
- Not written in one single document
- Parliament is the supreme law-maker
- Courts can review government actions
- The monarch approves a bill into law
Checks and balances
Select the TWO ways power is checked in the UK system.
- Judicial review, where courts can review government actions
- Parliament scrutinising and holding the government to account
- The monarch personally writing all new laws
- Removing all courts from the system
Devolution across the UK
Devolution transfers some powers from the UK Parliament to national bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly. They can make decisions in areas like health and education, while matters such as defence stay with the UK Parliament at Westminster.
Match each body to the nation it serves
- Scottish Parliament
- Welsh Senedd
- Northern Ireland Assembly
- The UK Parliament at Westminster
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
- The whole United Kingdom
What is devolution?
What does devolution mean?
- Transferring some powers from the UK Parliament to national bodies
- Abolishing the UK Parliament completely
- Giving all power to the monarch
- Making the same laws for every country in the world
Law and constitution frame
A bill becomes an _____ after it passes both Houses and receives royal _____. The UK has an _____ constitution, not written in one document. _____ has transferred some powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
How the constitution changes
Parliamentary _____ means Parliament is the supreme law-maker. Courts can check the government through judicial _____. The uncodified constitution changes over time, for example through _____ and through the UK's _____ membership of the European Union.
Apply it
Apply what you have learned about law-making and the constitution.
- A bill has passed both Houses. The final step before it becomes law is...
- Health and education decisions in Scotland are mostly made by...
- The UK constitution is described as uncodified because it is...
Explain law-making
Explain how a bill becomes law in the UK, and give one example of how the constitution has changed.
- Name two stages a bill goes through
- Say what royal assent does
- Give one example of constitutional change (for example, devolution)