regional geography of GB notes

1. Формирование нации
British people are descended mainly from the varied['veərɪd] ethnic stocks that settled in Great Britain before the eleventh century. Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Normans. In prehistoric times Br. was joined to the rest of E. The first people, came there over dry land. Towards the end of the Ice Age the low-lying land areas became covered with water, and the English Channel was formed. First inhabitants of the island for whom a traditional name exists are the Iberian or Megalithic people, who lived mainly in the western part of the country. 3'd BC – Ierians population was small & scattered. They were hunters. They mixed with local tribes.
The arrival of the Celts 800 B.C. opened up a new and important page of Br. history. The name "Britain" comes from the name of a Celtic tribe known as the Britons who settled in the country. The Celts spoke the Celtic language. The influence of the Celts was greatest in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Celts worshipped nature.Celts had no towns. There are place-names in Eng. connected with the Celts. For example, Avon - the name of a river, which means "water" in Celtic.
Caesar, the Roman ruler, first invaded Britain in 35 B.C., because Caesar['siːzə] knew that Britain produced corn which the Romans needed. And the Romans needed a fresh supply of slaves. However, Caesar's first expedition was not successful, because his force was small. So in the following year, that is in 54 B.C., he invaded the country with a larger army. But Caesar did not stay in Britain. He left the country with many slaves and other riches, and he received a promise from the Celts that they would pay a regular tribute to Rome.
Some 90 years later, that is in A.D. 43 the country was conquered by the Romans. Many towns were built by the Romans which were connected by good roads. Some of these roads still exist to this day. Most British towns with names ending with "chester" were, in Roman times, fortified camps. Life in the south-east of Britain resembled life in Rome, and there was a lively trade between Britain and the continent.
After the departure of the Romans 5th, the Celts remained independent for some time, but quite soon the country began to be attacked by Germanic tribes from the continent. The Jutes and the Angles came from the Jutland peninsula (today southern Denmark) and the Saxons from the territory between the Rhine and Elbe rivers (northern Germany). they came in great numbers conquering it altogether.
The Angles settled mainly to the north of the Thames, and quite soon the country began to be called "the land of the Angles", later "Engla-land" . The Anglo-Saxons and Jutes were close to each other in speech and customs, and they gradually formed into one people referred to as the Anglo-Saxons. Main work –cultivating of land, cleaned forests. Tall, blond, blue-eyed.
Although the German invaders occupied most of the British Isles, certain areas remained unconquered. They were Wales, Cornwall, the northern part of Britain, Ireland. Many of the Celts who survived after the attacks of the Germanic tribes fled to these parts of the country. Thus Celtic culture continued to exist in the parts of Britain which were mentioned above.
9‘th AD Skandinavian Vikings. –Beginning with the 8th century, pirates from Scandinavia and Denmark began raiding the eastern shores of Britain Danes. They came from the North, were of the Germanic origin as. they still lived in tribes, were still pagans, were well armed with swords, spears, daggers. Anglo-Saxon Britain was not a united country. There were a lot of small kingdoms which constantly waged wars against one another for supreme power. These little kingdoms were weak and could not hold out against attacks from abroad. King Egbert united all the kingdoms into England.Danish way of making a name in English: placenames ending in – by: Derbly, naseby, rugby.
The last of the invaders to come to Britain were the Normans from France. In 1066 Duke William of Normandy defeated the English at the battle of Hastings on the 14th of October in 1066 and established his rule in the country as king of England. He is known as William the Conqueror. The Normans settled in the country, and the French language became the official language of the ruling class for the next three centuries. This explains the great number of French words in English. The feudal system contributed to the growth of power of the state, and little by little England began to spread its power.
An important event which contributed to the unification of the country and the development of culture was the adoption of Christianity in England in 664. Christianity began to spread in England much earlier. It is connected with the name of St. Augustine who founded the Church of England in 597. With the adoption of Christianity many churches and monasteries were built.
7th ct - Protestant French sought refuge 18th - sailors of African ancestry 19-th + 1930-1949 - Jews[ʤuː] from central and eastern Europe After 2 WW - Chinese, Asian Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, and Caribbean people of African ancestry.
English national character. The English have such qualities as self-satisfaction & sense of superiority or pride. The fact is that for centuries GB ruled the seas & continents. They felt themselves & acted as “masters” in their numerous colonies in Africa, India, Malaya, Australia etc. But the common people are simple, modest by nature. The British are a sport-conscious nation. “Be a good loser” – the motto of the English sportsman. But this motto does not refer to sport alone.Self-possession – the ability to remain quiet at a moment of crisis. The English are short-spoken people, they are men of few words. Gentleman is very courteous. He will never remain seated when a lady is standing. Britains are very punctual people. They will be annoyed if you were 5 minutes late.Stereotypes – tea, talks about weather, puritans, English club, pubs

2. Население. Классовая система
The British are a diverse, multi-national and multicultural society, with "strong regional accents, expressions and identities".The idea of nationality remains a controversial issue. As they have the English nation, the Welsh, the Scottish and the Irish nation. Often they all are addressed as the English.
The total population is over 61 million people. Birth rate is not high, life expectancy is 78 years. The country is populated unevenly. England is the most populated, then comes Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
British citizenship is acquired automatically at birth by a child if parents are British or settled in Britain; by naturalisation for Commonwealth citizens, citizens of the Irish Republic who are aged 18 or over; for the rest – after 5 years residence in Britain (+ good character, sound mind, and sufficient knowledge of English. Social Class Make up.
. Since 1950s there has been a massive growth at the middle class (senior professionals, judges, senior medical specialists, senior civil servants). Unlike the working class, it has great mobility.
• upper middle class (top managers, doctors, lawyers)
• middle-class (teachers/ lower-grade administrators and officials, managers in small businesses and industrial establishments; l)
These two classes represent the `service` class of modern capitalist society. They are essentially the large-scale employers, the bureaucracy and professionals who together exercise power and expertise on behalf of the major ruling bodies of the society. These people have high incomes (higher in Class 1), job security and the expectation of incomes likely to rise steadily over their lifetimes. The jobs either involve significant exercise of authority, or considerable freedom to choose how to do the work.
• lower-middle class (office workers/salesmen, people who work in shops and in similar services)
• skilled working class (car mechanics, electricians)
• unskilled working class (builders) are grouped together as `intermediate` between the `service class` and the `working class`.
• unemployed (divisual for marketing people)
First of all, there is a wide disparity of incomes. This is more than simple payment for work: some jobs have pensions. Some jobs have allowances for housing, travel and other expenses. People in such jobs, which are typically in Class 1 and sometimes in Class 2, end up with much more money than those in Classes 6 and 7 who are paid simple wages. In higher-paid jobs, people tend to get more and more money as they get older and more experienced. Even without `promotion` university teachers will continue to have an annual increase in their salaries until they are in their early forties. Wage earners – the working classes – cannot expect to improve their wages much, if at all.Marketing people know, that there are many other indicators of social class.
2 indicators: education accent Meritocracy – ценность твоих заслуг , merit = заслуга
1990’s: upper class 1%, upper middle 3%, middle 16%, lower middle 25%, skilled working 25%, unskilled working 17%, underclass 13%.
As regards the proportion of urban population Britain probably holds the first place in the world. Over 90% of its population lives in towns. In Britain there are 91 towns with the population of over 100 thousand people.
Rural settlements of Great Britain differ from the traditional villages situated in other countries. They are located not far from towns and resemble their suburbs. They are inhabited by farm workers, clergymen, teachers, shopkeepers, and old-age people. Lately there has been a strong influx of townsmen to villages, where houses are cheaper. Farmers do not live in such places. The farmers live in isolated farms scattered all over the farm land.
Migration.
Mass emigration from GB stopped during World War I, when the traditional receiving countries (USA and Canada) imposed strict limitations on immigration. The automatic right to migrate and to British citizenship was stopped by Thatcher in the 80-s. New Commonwealth (anything but Canada, Australia, New Zealand) + Pakistani settlers account for 2 mln recent arrivals, who live mostly in the south-east and west Midlands. There are also sizable groups of Americans, Australians, The Chinese, Greeks and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and
Spaniards.
Ethnic Minorities.
The 1991 Census of Population for the first time included a question on ethnic origin. Over 25% population in London boroughs and the districts of Leicester comprises ethnic minority groups. Black and Asian people can be seen in every city of Britain, but there is a greater concentration of them in larger cities, where it is easier to find work, such as London, Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Manchester and others.
Languages:
Today in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, English is the language predominantly spoken. In Wales, however, Welsh, a form of British Celtic, is spoken by some 20 % of the population (about half a million people). The Welsh Language Council, an official body, promotes the use of the language and there is a number of bilingual schools in Wales.
In Scotland over 70,000 people speak the Scottish, form of Gaelic. A few families of Northern Ireland still speak the Irish form of Gaelic. But in general the number of people speaking the above-mentioned languages other than English

3. Гос. устройство.Монархия.Парламент
The Uk is a constitutional monarchy (head of state) the queen (Elizabeth 2) reigns with the support of parliament. She appoints all the ministers+Prime Minister.(David Cameron)Parliament 2 chambers: H of C - is made up of all the MP, chosen by election (every 5 years, they are paid for the work). The HC is presided over by the speaker. The group of ministers form the Cabinet. The leader –PM. They have a rule – collective responsibility (in public they all have to agree with the cabinet) PM appoints the MP and form the Government.Functions: legislation, finance, control of the govern.the next largest party in number form official Opposition. Leader of opposition is rather important. H of L consists of those lords who sit by right of inheritance & those man /women who have been given life peerages. They are not elected, seat by rank. The chairman is the Lord Chancellor. Sits on Woolsack Function - is to act as a break on the govern. of the day. They discuss the new legislation made by the HofC
The public attitude to politics
The politics in Britain is normally considered as dirty business, necessary evil. Politicians are expected to be dishonest, although trey are supposed to behave lawfully.
- There is lack of political enthusiasm within British society. But the British aren’t complete skeptics about politics as 3/4 of them take part in the national voting .
- Formally Britain is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. actually there is no democracy in the full sense of the word. The monarch has little real power.
- - There is no constitution as the single highest written document in Britain. Instead, a lot of principles and procedures exist in a number of different sources.
The UK's form of government is a constitutional monarchy[10][11] with a parliamentary system a The current British monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. , she ‘reigns’, but does not rule. The Bill of Rights (1689) was the first legal step towards constitutional monarchy. This Bill prevented the monarch from making laws without Parliament’s approval, guaranteed freedom of speech in Parliament, and forbade the king to interfere with the elections of its members

Queen Elizabeth II and her family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties. The reigning monarch is not only head of state but symbol of the unity of the nation. The monarchy is hereditary, the succession passing automatically to the oldest male child, or in the absence of males, to the oldest female offspring of the monarch. In law the monarch is head of the executive and of the judiciary, head of the Church of England, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Queen has no power at all. She cannot actually stop the government going ahead with any of its policies.
- The Queen has a very practical role to play, such as ceremonial duties and representation of the country.

The British Parliament works in the Palace of Westminster (“The House of Parliament”). Parliament is divided into two “Houses” (the House of Commons and the house of Lords). Only members of the Commons are known as MPs. The Commons is much more important of the two Houses.
Traditionally MPs were supposed to be the amateurs, not the professional politicians. Nowadays most of them are full-time politicians. They were not paid until 20th century, and they don’t get paid very much now. They also have quiet poor facilities.
- Working hours of MPs: there are “gentlemen hours”, when they work (from Monday to Thursday from 14:30 till 22:30 and even later, from the morning till the early afternoon on Friday ), they also have long holidays.
- The MPs mornings are occupied by different activities (committee work, research). They have a huge number of duties. The Commons spends a greater total amount of time sitting each year, than any other European Parliament.
5. Parliamentary business
The central part of the parliament activities takes the debates on a particular proposal. MPs should take a resolution, which could accept or reject the proposal (the most important issues are the discussion of the law project or government plans to raise taxies).
The voting process is held by walking one of two corridors. It’s called the “division”.
There are also parliament committees for different purposes.
6. How a bill becomes a law
There are a lot of discussions before a proposal for a new law starts its progress thought Parliament. Most bills go through number of stages.
- MPs have to vote according to the positions of their party.
The House of Lords
The members of the House of Lords are not elected. This right is result of an inherited aristocratic title. Some of the peers are life lords and can’t give their title by heritage.
This House has practically no real power. The power of Lords to refuse a proposal of the law is limited and such refusal can be overcome - after a period of six month a bill comes into force at any way.

4. Гос. устройство. Правительство. Полит.партии

One of the characteristic features of British government is that the highest executive authority (the Cabinet) is a part of the highest legislative authority (Parliament). Usually the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are members of the House of Commons, though there is no law that would insist on it. The residence of the Prime Minister is situated in Downing Street. The Prime Minister, in the name of the Monarch, directs an executive work of the Government. Under his guidance, the members of the Cabinet prepare the definite actions, while civil servants supply them with necessary materials and all necessary warnings of possible negative results of the action. Local authorities carry out the practical application of these policies and materials.
Political Parties.
The United Kingdom has traditionally had a dominant two party system, and all national governments since the 1920s have been led by either the Labour Party or the Conservative Party, but the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, currently hold over 9% of the seats in the Commons. These three main parties operate throughout Great Britain
Parties 2-party system 1 – in power (now – Labour Party ex -Wigs) 2 – oppositional (now - Conservative ex-Tories)Other – liberal democratic p, Scottish national p, Irish national p, social democratic and labour p
Work of the government: New laws (bills) are proposed by the government, privateMP, members of House of lords
The UK is a parliamentary monarchy. There are 3 arms of the state. Bt no strict boarders between them.
The legislative branch – the bicameral P. GBr is known as Mother of Parliament. The P. consist of The House of Lords and The House of Commons and the Monarch, called the Crown.
The executive branch – the Government. Its head is the Prime Minister, a member of the HC, the leader of the major party. The G. is composed of ministers in the Cabinet, G. departments (each of which is responsible to a Minister), local authorities and public corporations. The PM presides over the Cabinet and select its members. The Cabinet has 20 ministers, all the MPs. Mostly they are leaders of the majority party in the HC, rarely members of the HL. The Lord Chancellor is a member of the Cabinet, but also the head of the judiciary.
The Privy Council –large and ceremonial body (450 members – current and former ministers, important public figures). It advises the monarch, has a lot of committees (judicial committee)
Political parties date from the 17th c., when the Whig and the Tory parties appeared during the Revolution of 1688. Whigs believed in a strong P. Tory supporters came from landed aristocracy and were defenders of the king and the church of Eng.
The Conservative Party (the Tories) is a centre-right political party in the UK, a major party, bases on philosophies of conservatism. It was formed in 1867. The party’s support comes mainly from business interests and the middle and upper classes. Leader is David Cameron. The CP favours minimal state regulation, private enterprises and free market; so Br. business community is its strong supporter
The conservative party: The aims of the Party are: to uphold religion, to maintain defence forces adequate for the preservation of freedom and prevention of war, to provide freedom and opportunity by supporting free enterprise and initiative, to encourage wider spread of ownership of property, to improve standards of life, to promote better health, to give greater educational opportunities. The Conservative party has successfully portrayed itself as the party of patriotism.
The Labour Party (Whigs merged with another parties) is a centre-left social democratic party in the UK, the primary opposition to the CP.It was formed in 1884. Leader is Ed Miliband. The LB has drawn financial and electoral support from trade unions; has a socialist element, supporting state control of imp. industries and more equal distribution of wealth. The Labour Party: The Labour party was founded in 1900 outside the Parliament with the aim to protect legal rights of the trade unions. more democratic, progressive. It has affirmed the duty of richer nations to assist poorer ones, it stood for social justice, classless society
The Liberal Democrats(the 3rd important party in UK) are a social liberal political party in the UK, a centrist party(Liberal P+Social Democratic P). It was formed in 1988. Leader is Nick Clegg.
There are a number of minor parties in GB: the Scottish Nationalist P, the welsh nationalist party. There are several parties in Northern Ireland (Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party) The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party
The Scottish National Party is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom. The leader is Alex Salmond.
Voting system: “first past the post”. The P. and candidates receiving the most votes win the election even if they don’t receive more than 50% of the vote. Smaller parties have proportionally less representation in P.
Br. Constitution comprises multiple documents. The written part: the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628), the Bill of Rights (1689). The C. also includes entire body of laws, precedents of Br. courts, various traditions and customs.

5. Экономика
The economy of the United Kingdom is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP(gross domestic product) and seventh for purchasing power parity (PPP) and the third-largest in Europe measured by nominal. The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union, the G7(Group of Seven), the G8, the G20, the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.
London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York, and has the largest city GDP in Europe and is home to the headquarters of more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies. Britain invests all over the world seeking for the high benefits.
The economic system of Britain is a mixture of private and public enterprise. From 1945 to 1980 the general trend was the nationalization of industry. From 1980 the trend started going in the other direction: a lot of companies were privatized- In 1980s – Margaret Thatcher's government, that changed the privatization. Car-making, bus-companies, denationalized enterprises: trains, phones. Now the state controls the prices of gas, electricity, water supply. The state controls the praises of private companies
For a long time Britain was trading country (import/export).
The national economy still based on free markets. Britain exports more per head then the USA or Japan. Machinery, transport, manufacture - largest earners.
UK pharmaceutical industry is one of the best in the discovery and development of medicines. It has 15 best-selling drugs out of 75 top. Second largest export of services. (computer programming, banking, broking). Britain imports most goods from Germany, USA, France, and Netherlands. In export there are the same countries.
Sectors of British economy:
•Primary Industries – row materials(oil, gas, agriculture-2%, mining (добыча полезных ископаемых), fishing.
Britain has more energy resources then other European countries(coal). Since 1970 huge quantities of oil and gas has been discovered in the North Sea.
•Secondary Industries (manufacturing and construction; service). Tourism, transport, telecommunication started to grow. Financial services such as accountancies, banking, and insurance.
Ship-building is an important industry in the UK. The main ship-building centers are London, Glasgow , Belfast and some others.
Agriculture is intensive, highly productive, producing about 60% of food needs. Nearly 80% of land area is used for agriculture.Agriculture in GB is intensive and highly mechanised
Most vital taxes are:
1 Income tax (подоходный налог). Government takes about 20% of your income. This tax is paid by the employees. It's progressive in Britain →the more you earn, the more you pay. The highest can reach up to 40%.
2) National insurance contribution (фонд социального страхования). NIK is the second largest source in the UK. It is paid by employers, employees and self-employed. about 8-12,5% .
3) VAT (value added tax, НДС). On most goods and services. Standard - 17, 5%.
4) Excise. For tobacco, alcohol and oil. If the price goes up the demand doesn't change. main problems: 1) British workers don't have the same level of productivity (low educational level; less investment; less manufacturing methods) 2) Ageing population→shortage of workers→additional tax burden. 3) Trade deficit. The result of the recent crisis. Consumers' confidence lowers. The way out is foreign investments. not enough investment--short termines-military spendings

6. Образование

Education in Great Britain is compulsory and free for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. At the age of 16 about 2/3 of pupils leave school and get jobs. About 1/3 stay at school until the age of 18. There are about 30,000 state schools with 2,000 private fee-paying schools.
One of the most important changes in education brought the Education Reform Act in 1988. It was the introduction of a National Curriculum for children aged 5 to 16 in all state schools. It consists of 10 subjects which all children must study at school. They are:
Foundation subjects: English, Math, Science, a modern foreign language (for 11-16 year olds), Technology and Design, History, Geography, Music, Art and Physical Education.
Religious Education is required for pupils as part of the basic curriculum, although parents have a right to withdraw their children from religious classes.
The great majority of children (about 9 million) attend Britain's 30,500 state schools. No tuitions fees are payable in any of them. In most primary and secondary state schools boys and girls are taught together. State schools are almost all day schools, holding classes between Mondays and Fridays. The school year normally begins in early September and continues into the following July. The year is divided into three terms of about 13 weeks each.
Compulsory education begins at the age of 5 in England, Wales and Scot land, and 4 in Northern Ireland. All pupils must stay at school until the age of 16. About 9 per cent of pupils in state schools remain at school voluntarily until the age of 18. Education within the state school system comprises either two stages primary and secondary, or three - first schools, middle schools and upper schools.
NURSERY EDUCATION. Education for the under-fives, mainly from 3 to 5, is not compulsory and can be provided in nursery schools and nursery classes attached to primary schools. The children spend most of their time in some sort of play activity.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS Children attend a primary school for 6 years, from 5 to 11. Primary school may be housed in a single building with two departments: Infant and Junior or in separate schools, Infants (5 to 7) and Junior (7 to 11).
SECONDARY SCHOOLS A comprehensive school offers 5-year courses to pupils of all levels of ability. Promotion to a higher class every year does not depend upon examination results, it is almost automatic. Pupils never repeat the year.
The principal examinations taken by secondary school pupils at the age of 16 are those leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).
Admission to universities is carried out by examination or selection (interviews). Applications for places in nearly all the universities are sent initially to The Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). In the application an applicant can list up to five universities or colleges in order of preference. Applications must be sent to the UCAS in the autumn term of the academic year preceding that in which the applicant hopes to be admitted. The UCAS sends a copy to each of the universities or colleges named. Each university selects its own students.
About 5 per cent of Britain's children attend independent or private schools outside the free state sector. private schools, often referred to as the "independent sector" where the parents have to pay for their children. Most independent schools for younger children are also mixed, while the majority of private secondary schools are single-sex. These schools charge between £ 300 a term for day nursery pupils and £ 3,500 a term for a senior boarding-school pupils. One of these schools, Eton, is perhaps, better known by name outside its own country than any other school in the world. It was founded by King Henry VI in 1440, across the Thames from Windsor Castle. About twenty Prime Ministers of Great Britain have passed though Eton. More than half of all peers who have inherited their titles are old Etonians.
Higher Education There are about 90 universities, including the Open University, Oxford, and Cambridge, that were established in the 13th Century.
All British universities are private institutions. Students have to pay fees and living costs, but every student may obtain a personal grant from local authorities. If the parents do not earn much money, their children will receive a full grant which will cover all the expenses. Students studying for first degrees are known as “undergraduates”. New undergraduates in some universities are called “fresher”. They have lectures, there are regular seminars.
After three or four years the students will take their finals. Those who pass examinations successfully are given the Bachelor’s degree: Bachelor of Arts for History or Bachelor of Science. The first postgraduate degree is Master of Arts, Master of Science. Doctor of Philosophy is the highest degree. It is given for some original research work which is an important contribution to knowledge.
The most famous universities in Britain are Oxford and Cambridge. They are the two oldest English universities and they both have a long and eventful history of their own. Oxford and Cambridge are regarded as being academically superior to other universities and as giving special privilege and prestige. Cambridge University consists of a group of 32 independent colleges. The first students came to the city in 1209 and studied in the schools of the cathedral and monasteries.

7. Закон и порядок. Судопроизводство. Полиция. Наказания
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four countries with three distinct jurisdictions, each with its own court system and legal profession:
The UK does not have a ‘written' constitution and is made up of four main parts:
• statute law
• common law
• conventions
• works of authority.
Of these, statute law is the most important and takes precedence. Although the Queen is the Head of State, Parliament is regarded as the supreme law-making authority.
Common law can be changed by legislation, but cannot overrule or change statutes. The last elements of the UK constitution consists of conventions and works of authority which do not have statutory authority, but nevertheless have binding force.
The court system in England and Wales
The lowest criminal courts or Magistrates' Courts deal with minor offences with more serious cases being heard in the Crown Court, in front of a judge and jury. The Crown Court also hears cases appealed from the Magistrates' Courts on factual points. Cases can be appealed on points of law to the High Court (Queen's Bench Division) and appeals against conviction and sentence are made to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
Civil cases are heard firstly in the County Courts or the High Court, which is divided into three divisions: Queen's Bench, Family and Chancery.
The Legal system The law is one of the most traditional areas of national life in Britain. There is a single system of law and courts in England and Wales, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have their separate systems.
One important distinction is made between civil and public law. Civil law concerns disputes among citizens within the country, and public law concerns disputes between citizens and the state, or between one state and another.
The organization of police force
There is no national police force in Britain. All police employees work for one of the forty separate forces, which have responsibility for a particular geographical area. The central government inspect them.
In the last quarter of the 20th century the number of crimes went up. And a fear of crime seems to have increased a lot.
The system of justice
- The system of justice in England and Wales is an adversarial system. It is not the business of any court to find out the truth. Its job is simply to make a decision on a particular question, based on the announced evidence from the side of defense and prosecution.
- There are two kinds of court: the magistrates’ courts and the Crown courts.
- In the crown court the professional judge takes a decision, based on the verdict of the jury about guilt or innocence of the person. Juries consisted of 12 people selected at random.

8. Система здравоохранения и соц.обеспечения
The British government administers an extensive health and welfare system that the Labour government established between 1945 and 1951.
The National Health Service Act of 1946 established the socialized health-care system that went into effect in 1948. It provided free medical care for all Br. people regardless of income. The system covered physician and dental services, prescription drugs, hospital care, eyeglasses, and dentures. It provided better health care than most people could previously afford, but the program cost more than anticipated.
Certain patients—including children, pregnant women, the unemployed, those disabled in the armed forces, men over 65, and women over 60—are exempt from payments or fees. Hospital care remains free.
Welfare services in Britain are supported by taxpayers and are meant to act as a safety net for the entire society from birth to death.
Today there are family allowances for children up to the age of 16 (18 if the child is still in school full time), as well as allowances for guardians and widows. Pensions for the elderly, or retirement benefits, begin for men at the age of 65 and for women at the age of 60. Within a few years retirement benefits will be equalized at age 65. Early in the 20th century the Br. government realized that most working people were unlikely to save enough money to purchase new housing. The government therefore started building public housing, also called council housing, and the state subsidized the rents of poorer citizens living in this housing. Local authorities are required to provide permanent accommodations for those who unintentionally become homeless. Pregnant women, people with dependent children, and those who are vulnerable because of old age or mental or physical handicaps have first priority for state-funded council housing. Council housing availability is handled through a local authority housing register that quickly provides housing for the needy. In addition, the government provides assistance to people who need help paying for rental housing. This assistance is provided on a means-tested basis, which involves a sliding scale of payments dependent on the recipient’s income and financial resources. In other words, poorer recipients receive higher housing benefits from the local authorities than do people who have more resources.
The most distinctive feature of British National Health Service is that it is universal and free. Unlike most systems it is founded from general taxation not from insurance as in other countries.
GP- general practitioner(врач терапевт). Each general practitioner has about 2000 people in his list.
All specialists work in hospitals, but you can`t visit them without a letter from your GP.
As an alternative you can use Private Health Services instead of National Health Service.
Heart diseases and cancer the most popular.
About 28% of elder population in Britain smoke.
Social protection There are well fair benefits. Some called «means fasted» - they vary according to the needs of individual person.
Job-sickness allowances(stops after 1 year)
Child benefit
65 (pension)
As they work they put money at pension funds. For those who are without jobs there are means tested benefits. Homeless is increased dramatically recent years.
A striking feature is amount of charity funds, there are a lot of them. The biggest is OxFam which was founded in 1942
Services provided for older people include various help at home and day centres. The former include ‘meals on wheels’ delivered by the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service and the Red Cross. Day and night attentants are available through social services departments. ‘Good neighbour’ schemes operate in many areas. Day centres and clubs provide an important meeting place for older people. They provide a hot meal, some services (e.g. laundry), some educational courses art and craft classes and even arrange holidays.
The next aspect of social care concerns suitable accomodation: it may vary from adapting the home, sheltered housing to residential and nursing homes.
There is a comprehensive system of benefits and discounts for elder people. British Rail sells a Senior Citizen’s Railcard , which allows them to travel on most train services at a discounted price.
A state retirement pension is paid to women aged 60 and over and to men aged 65 and over. It consists of a weekly pension, which is based on the amount of basic contributions paid during a person’s working life. A non-contributary pension is paid to people over the age of 80. Pensioneers may have unlimited earnings without affecting their pension.

9. Религия и церковь
The established state religion of the UK is Anglican Christianity of which the British monarch is the titular head[1]. . According to the 2011 UK census, Christianity is the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in terms of number of adherents. The British monarch, who must be a member of the Anglican Church, holds the titles of Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith. The monarch appoints archbishops and bishops upon the advice of the prime minister, who consults a commission that includes both lay people and clergy.
England was converted into Christianity in 597 AD when Roman Pope sent Saint Augustan with about 40 monks to Britain to baptize (крестить) king Ethelbert of Kent.
As in many European countries today, the majority of the population in Britain does not regularly attend religious services.
The United Kingdom has two established churches: the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. An established church is the legally recognized official church of the state. The Church of England, also called the Anglican Church, is a Protestant Episcopal church.
The established church in Scotland is the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian. The Presbyterian Church is governed by courts composed of ministers and elders. The Church of Scotland is not subject to state control.
The Roman Catholic Church has an extensive formal structure in Britain made up of provinces, dioceses, and local parishes. The Church of Scotland unlike the Church of England is subject neither to the throne no to the Parliament and takes pride in its independence from state authority. Its churches are plain (простые) there is no altar only a table. The Church of Scotland is more democratic.
Other Christian religious groups include Unitarians, Pentecostals, Quakers, Christian Brethren, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, Christian Scientists, and Mormons.
The fast-growing Muslim community numbers from 1.5 million to 2 million, or about 2 percent of the total population. Britain has the second largest Jewish community in Western Europe, with some 285,000 people. There are also about 320,000 Hindus, 400,000 to 500,000 Sikhs, and thousands of Jains and Buddhists. Newer religious movements and sects have also flourished in Britain, including the Church of Scientology and the Unification Church.
Church and state are linked, not separated as in other countries! In 1553, English King Henry 8, he became the head of the state. The Pope refused to allow him divorce his wife. Religious education is compulsory in school. Since 1994 women of England church can become priests.
The hierarchy of the church: the archbishop of Canterbury the archbishop of York heats of 2 ecclesiastical provinces – divided into 42 dioceses each under the charge of a bishop. 1 time\year – a conference of bishops, the head is archbishop of Canterbury. Mosk - мечеть
10.СМИ
Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites.Historically, broadcasting in Britain has been treated as a public service responsible to the people through Parliament. In recent decades broadcasting has been opened up to market competition. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), set up in 1922, is a large public television and radio service that is primarily supported by license fees paid annually by each household. In 1955 Independent Television (ITV) stations were permitted and began to present some competition to the BBC. The government licenses and regulates broadcasting through the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Radio Authority. There are numerous satellite and cable companies, as well as independent radio stations. The government regulates broadcasting and may refuse to issue licenses to substandard companies. Television viewing is Britain’s most popular pastime. The average Briton spends more than three and a half hours per day watching television, including videotapes.The BBC has five radio networks that broadcast throughout Britain. There are also three independent national radio services (classical music, rock music, and talk radio), and about 200 independent local radio services. Britain has one of the largest publishing industries in the world. There are ten morning daily newspapers and nine Sunday papers published nationally. Britain has one of the highest newspaper readerships of any developed nation: About 60 percent of adult Britons read a national newspaper daily, and more than 65 percent buy a Sunday newspaper. Even more Britons read local or regional newspapers.Britain is home to some of the oldest newspapers in the world. The Observer and the Times have both been published since the late 18th century. They provide news on current events and matters of public interest. Popular papers, called tabloids, often cater to gossip and publish lavishly illustrated stories. These include the Sun and the Daily Star. Other papers, such as the Daily Mail and Express, offer a middle ground between news and entertainment stories.
The Times (founded 1785) is called the paper of the Establishment. Politically it is independent, but it is generally inclined to be sympathetic to the Conservative party. The Guardian (until 1959 — Manchester Guardian) has become a truly national paper rather than one specially connected with Manchester. In quality, style and reporting it is nearly equal with The Times. The Daily Telegraph in theory is independent, but in practice it is very close to being an organ of Conservative Party. Being well produced and edited it is full of various information and belongs to the same class of journalism as The Times and The Guardian.
There are also Local, Regional and Periodical Papers.
There are many hundreds of radio stations in the United Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the national stations operated by the BBC.
Britain’s first newspapers appeared over 300 years ago.
Nearly all the newspapers have their head offices in London, but the famous newspaper street, Fleet Street, now houses only two of them, the Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph. The rest have moved to cheaper parts of London.Newspapers are traditionally categorized into two types in the United Kingdom. Broadsheets which are larger in size and are seen as being more intellectual and upmarket; and tabloids which are smaller in size and seen as being more downmarket than broadsheets, containing more stories about celebrities or gossip. However, some broadsheet papers, such as The Times and The Independent have recently switched to a smaller size, preferring to call themselves compact rather than be stigmatised by the tabloid label. A large range of magazines are sold in the UK covering most interests and potential topics. Famous examples include Private Eye, Hello!, The Spectator, the Radio Times and NME.