|
Main entrance of
10 Downing Street
, the residence
and offices of the First Lord of HM Treasury
Devolved governments
accountable governments in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. These are
not part of Her Majesty's Government,
and are directly accountable to their own
institutions, with their own authority
under the Crown; in contrast, there is no
devolved government in England.
Local government
Refurbishment notice at Old Fire Station,
Oxford
,
showing HM Government support.
Up to three layers of elected local
authorities (such as county, district and
parish Councils) exist throughout all
parts of the United Kingdom, in some
places merged into unitary authorities.
They have limited local tax-raising
powers. Many other authorities and
agencies also have statutory powers,
generally subject to some central
government supervision.
The government's powers include
general executive and statutory powers,
delegated legislation, and numerous
powers of appointment and patronage.
Limits of government power
However, some powerful officials and
bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities,
and the charity commissions) are legally
more or less independent of the
government, and government powers are
legally limited to those retained by the
Crown under common law or granted and
limited by act of Parliament, and are
subject to European Union law and the
competencies that it defines. Both
substantive and procedural limitations
are enforceable in the courts by judicial
review.
Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors
can still be arrested for and put on trial
for corruption, and the government has
powers to insert commissioners into a
local authority to oversee its work, and to
issue directives that must be obeyed by
the local authority, if the local authority is
not abiding by its statutory
obligations.
[16]
By contrast, as in European Union (EU)
member states, EU officials cannot be
prosecuted for any actions carried out in
pursuit of their official duties, and foreign
country diplomats (though not their
employees) and foreign members of the
European Parliament
[17]
are immune
from prosecution in the UK under any
circumstance. As a consequence, neither
EU bodies nor diplomats have to pay
taxes, since it would not be possible to
prosecute them for tax evasion. This
caused a dispute in recent years when
the US ambassador to the UK claimed
that London's congestion charge was a
tax, and not a charge (despite the name),
and therefore he did not have to pay it –
a claim the Greater London Authority
disputed.
Similarly, the monarch is totally immune
from criminal prosecution and may only
be sued with her permission (this is
known as sovereign immunity). The
monarch, by law, is not required to pay
income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II has
voluntarily paid it since 1993, and also
pays local rates voluntarily. However, the
monarchy also receives a substantial
grant from the government, the
Sovereign Support Grant, and Queen
Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was
exempt from inheritance tax.
In addition to legislative powers, HM
Government has substantial influence
over local authorities and other bodies
set up by it, by financial powers and
grants. Many functions carried out by
local authorities, such as paying out
housing benefit and council tax benefit,
are funded or substantially part-funded
by central government.
Neither the central government nor local
authorities are permitted to sue anyone
for defamation. Individual politicians are
allowed to sue people for defamation in a
personal capacity and without using
government funds, but this is relatively
rare (although George Galloway, who was
a backbench MP for a quarter of a
century, has sued or threatened to sue
for defamation a number of times).
However, it is a criminal offence to make
a false statement about any election
candidate during an election, with the
purpose of reducing the number of votes
they receive (as with libel, opinions do
not count).
Departments of the United Kingdom
Government
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Gov.uk
Government spending in the United
Kingdom
British Government Frontbench
Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
List of British governments
Northern Ireland Executive
Scottish Government
Welsh Government
Whole of Government Accounts
See also
Office for Veterans' Affairs
1. Her Majesty's Government Retrieved
28 June 2010
2. Overview of the UK system of
government : Directgov –
Government, citizens and rights .
Archived direct.gov.uk webpage.
Retrieved on 29 August 2014.
3. "Legislation" . UK Parliament. 2013.
Retrieved 27 January 2013.
4. House of Commons – Justice
Committee – Written Evidence .
Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved
on 19 October 2010.
References
5. The monarchy : Directgov –
Government, citizens and rights .
Archived direct.gov.uk webpage.
Retrieved on 29 August 2014.
6. The Parliament Acts – UK
Parliament . Parliament.uk (21 April
2010). Retrieved on 12 October 2011.
7. "Queen and Prime Minister" . The
British Monarchy. 2013. Archived
from the original on 14 April 2010.
Retrieved 27 January 2013.
8. Mystery lifted on Queen's powers |
Politics . The Guardian. Retrieved on
12 October 2011.
9. House of Commons Library
https://researchbriefings.parliament.
uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN0
3378
10. Civil Service Statistics Archived 10
November 2013 at the Wayback
Machine. civilservant.org.uk.
September 2011
11. LIST OF MINISTERIAL
RESPONSIBILITIES Including
Executive Agencies and
NonMinisterial Departments .
Cabinet Office 2009
12. Maer, Lucinda (4 September 2017).
"Ministers in the House of Lords" .
13. Committees – UK Parliament .
Parliament.uk (21 April 2010).
Retrieved on 12 October 2011.
14. Ministerial Code . Cabinet Office
2010
15. "Speakers' statements on ministerial
policy announcements made outside
the House"
(PDF)
. Archived from the
original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved
29 November 2010.. Parliamentary
Information List. Department of
Information Services.
www.parliament.uk. 16 July 2010
16. "Secretary of State sends in
commissioners to Tower Hamlets" .
Gov.uk. 17 December 2014. Retrieved
10 April 2015.
17. "The Immunity of Members of the
European Parliament"
(PDF)
.
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