Session 1: Political participation• Describe the role of citizens in the UK political process (voting etc)• Explain how and why social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and class influence the

pattern of political participation and the distribution of political authority and power

Key Terms: Democracy, Monarchy, Republic, Dictatorship, MP, Constituency, Prime Minister, Government, Parliament

Starter Identify two ways in which pressure groups can attempt to influence public opinion. (2 marks)Identify two ways in which employees can act together to improve their pay and conditions. (2 marks)Identify two reasons why there are far fewer female Members of Parliament (MPs) than male MPs (2 marks)

Most of the exam questions within this topic can be answered with simple common sense and knowledge from

Citizenship• Explain what sociologists mean by an elite. (4 marks)

• Describe one way in which police powers have increased in Britain in the last 30 years and explain why some groups would consider this to be a problem. (5 marks)

• Describe one approach which has been used in an attempt to increase the participation of women in parliamentary politics and explain why this approach might not be successful. (5 marks)

• Describe one way in which pressure groups try to influence government decisions and explain why some pressure groups are more successful than others in influencing such decisions. (5 marks)

Most of the exam questions within this topic can be answered with simple common sense and knowledge from

Citizenship

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that young people are not interested in politics.(12 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in Britain today other factors are more important than social class in determining how people vote. (12 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that age is the most important influence on an individual’s participation in the political process. (12 marks)

Plan out answers to these past questions based on the powerpoints from the power unit

Session 2: Political participation• Awareness of the ways in which governments have attempted to solve social problems,

such as those associated with discrimination, including the ageing population, unemployment and poverty (anti-discrimination laws etc)

• Analyse the different political arguments about the welfare provision (benefits etc)

Starter: Governments have to make difficult decisions when deciding how to allocate public money. Rank the below groups in order of priority with 1 being the group that you think should receive the most help and 5 receiving the least. Be prepared to justify your answers.• Elderly retired widow• Single mother staying at home• Single mother going to work• Disabled man• Unemployed 18 year old

Consensus = political consensus means that all of the different political parties are in agreement with each other about something e.g:

“There is political consensus between the Conservatives and Labour party on whether to have free education.”

Welfare state = a country where the government has taken steps to protect the health and wellbeing of those in financial need – “Britain is now a welfare state.”

Welfare system = the system that a government has brought in to protect the health and wellbeing of those in financial need – “The welfare system in Britain has been criticised for being unfair.”

Welfare = the help that those in financial need receive e.g. benefits, tax credits etc. – “Single mothers now receive welfare.”

Key terms

The next few slides will tell the story of the history of the development of the welfare system in Britain. Take notes of key terms, facts and dates

INTRODUCTION

State welfare and benefits have considerably changed in the last one hundred years in developed countries, such as Britain, in an effort to reduce the number of people who fall into the category of being ‘poor’.

One individual who was extremely influential in defining poverty was Seebohm Rowntree who devised research at the beginning of the twentieth century to define whether people were in poverty or not.

He defined people as belonging to a category:

or below the poverty line (in poverty)

above the poverty line (out of poverty)

He argued that people needed:

• Food

• Clothes

• Shelter

These were the minimum for existence.

The poverty line was drawn at the point where a minimum was needed to ‘maintain health’.

There are two types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative

poverty.

Absolute poverty means that a person does not have what they need to survive physically, for example, they do not have food, drink, clothing or shelter.

Relative poverty means that the individual is measured against the standard of living of the rest of the

society in which he/she lives.

The difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty is the difference between:

Absolute poverty:

An individual’s biological needs:An individual’s biological needs:

•FoodFood

•WaterWater

•ClothingClothing

•ShelterShelter

Defining poverty

The difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty is the difference between:

Relative poverty:

An individual’s needs An individual’s needs according to a according to a generally accepted generally accepted standard of the standard of the society in which the society in which the individual is living at individual is living at that specific time.that specific time.

Although the first attempts at creating a welfare system started in the early 1900s, events such as the First World War and the following ‘Depression’ of the 1930’s when unemployment was so high, led eventually to a review of the state provision for the unemployed and sick.The most significant changes to the welfare system took place after World War 2. All political parties reached a consensus that they should pull together to help each other and rebuild the country.

In other words, serious reviews needed to be undertaken after the Second World War in the areas of:

Unemployment

Housing

Poverty

Health and

Education

1900

2012

1906 Free school meals 1909 Pensions

WW1 1914

1939 WW2

Free education 19441945 Benefit system for elderly, widows & orphans

School leaving age raised to 15 1947 1948 National Health Service &

National Insurance (pay when working so get money when not working)

Important Anti Discrimination Laws

Equal Pay Act 1970 (men & women)

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (equal chance of job & promotion etc – included sexuality as well as sex)

Race Relations Act 1976 (no discrimination by race)

Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – cannot discriminate by disability & must make steps to make work accessible etc

Unemployed

• Government imposed “New Deal”• Work experience encouraged for young people,

unemployed and lone parents• Threat of benefits being reduced if people do

not look for work• Subsidised (cheaper) childcare to encourage

families too get back to work• Basic literacy and numeracy programmes• Minimum wage introduced

1950s – full employment 1980s – lots of unemployment

1990s – better employment NOW – lots of unemployment

Ageing Population

• The elderly make a vital contribution to family and community life BUT they are also expensive in terms of healthcare, pensions, social care etc.

• They are also the age group most likely to vote in the General elections so governments want to keep them happy!

• Government encourages personal pensions and encourages companies to set up pensions for their employees

• Age discrimination laws have come into place to allow older people to carry on working into later life

• Means-tested pension credits, heating allowances etc for the poorest pensioners

Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the value of property and houses etc.

2006/7 = 2.5 million pensioners living in poverty

Children

• Free education for every child• Means-tested free school dinners, help with

cost of trips, uniform etc• Every parent entitled to child benefit• Government grant of £1000 in a savings

account for every newborn baby – can access at 18

• Child Support Agency (CSA) set up to chase absent fathers for child support payment

Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the value of property and houses etc.

2006/7 = 2.9 million children living in poverty

The welfare system was designed to help those people in need. Can you think of any

criticisms of the welfare system?

There was political consensus between most political parties after World War 2. They agreed that they needed to work together to rebuild society and help those in need, which led to the development of the welfare system.

However, the welfare system started to receive criticism.In 1975, the conservative party, led by Margaret Thatcher

adopted neo-liberal principles. They believed that…• The welfare state is inefficient as there is no competition

to drive up standards. E.g. patients of a hospital can’t choose to “take their custom elsewhere.”

• The welfare state encourages a “something for nothing” attitude so people are less inclined to work hard and pay for their own family.

Neo-Liberalism = a political approach based on the belief that governments should limit their activity to maintaining “law and order” and should not interfere too much.

“I’ve got a little list of benefit offenders who I’ll soon be rooting out,

And who never would be missed. They never would be missed.

There’s those who make up bogus claims in half a dozen names, And Councillors who draw the dole to run left-wing campaigns.

They never would be missed. They never would be missed.

There’s young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue,

And dads who won’t support the kids of the ladies they have kissed,

And I haven’t even mentioned all those sponging socialists. I’ve got them on my list, and there’s none of them be missed.

There’s none of them be missed.”This ditty was sung at the Conservative conference by the

minister in charge of security in 1992.

1) Identify 3 ways in which the “scroungers” are said to damage the welfare state.

2) Identify 3 ways in which a genuine claimant may be affected by hearing such a ditty on TV

‘Old Labour’ had a huge influence on the development of the welfare state. Their policies were based on protecting the interests of the working classes and supporting working class values such as solidarity.

In 1997, the Labour party rebranded itself to ‘New Labour’ to try to distance itself from its old policies. It appeared that New Labour and the Conservative party had again, reached political consensus. Both parties now believe that:

• Government bodies or local councils do not provide services as efficiently as private companies

• Only competition provides a sufficiently powerful incentive to work hard

On the basis of these beliefs, much of the organisation of the welfare system has now been reformed.

• Privatisation of many services e.g. refuse collection, some schools, prisons etc

• Competitive environments created between services e.g. schools compete for pupils, hospitals compete for patients

“Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the welfare state strengthens society.” (12 marks)

• Arguments for how the welfare system strengthens society– Poverty– Unemployed– Elderly

• Arguments for how the welfare system weakens society– Living off the state– Unemployment– Undermines family responsibility

• Conclusion

Exam questionsIdentify two ways in which recent governments have tried to address some of the social problems experienced by our ageing population. (2 marks)

Identify two services that are provided by the welfare state today (2 marks)

Explain what sociologists mean by a benefits culture. (4 marks)

Describe one way in which recent governments have changed how they provide benefits for people who are unemployed and explain why this might lead to political arguments and debate. (5 marks)

Describe one way in which members of minority ethnic groups may still experienceprejudice and explain how this may affect the power they have in today’s society.(5 marks)

Describe one way in which recent governments have tried to improve conditions forolder people and explain why this may not always have been successful. (5 marks)

Describe one way in which governments have tried to tackle discrimination in recent years and explain how successful this policy has been. (5 marks)

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that social problems such as poverty and unemployment are most effectively addressed by government action. (12 marks)

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the welfare state has been successful in significantly reducing poverty in Britain over the last 50 years (12 marks)

Session 3: Power in everyday life• Describe different power relationships in ‘everyday’ situations, such as those

between employees and employers; children, parents, school teachers and other children; members of the public and the police.

StarterExplain what sociologists mean by power relationships. (4 marks)

Exam questions

• Describe one way in which children and young people have gained more power and influence over their education in the last 20 years and explain why some teachers and other adults might consider this to be a problem. (5 marks)

• Describe one way in which children and young people have gained more power and influence over their education in the last 20 years and explain why some teachers and other adults might consider this to be a problem. (5 marks)

• Describe one way in which the police have power over members of the public and explain how this might affect the relationship between the police and the community. (5 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in Britain today power is shared equally between different ethnic groups. (12 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in society today power is shared equally between women and men. (12 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in society today relationships between children and adults are increasingly democratic. (12 marks)

• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that power is shared equally between different social classes in Britain today. (12 marks)