Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role — Set 7

Joining a parent-teacher association (PTA) is one of the ways parents can volunteer and get involved in their children's school and the local community.

Coaching a local sports team in your spare time is volunteering — giving your time to help others and take part in community life.

Charity trustees are the people who oversee a charity's work; they are usually volunteers and are responsible for making sure the charity is well run and uses its money properly.

For cars, the national speed limit is 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway.

Passengers aged 14 and over are responsible for wearing their own seat belts; the driver is responsible for children under 14.

The Highway Code is the official guide to the rules of the road for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and other road users, and some of its rules are legal requirements.

A new car does not need an MOT until it is three years old; after that, it must pass the test every year.

Although the monarch delivers the speech at the State Opening, its contents are written by the government and set out the government's plans for new laws.

In a division, MPs vote by walking through one of two lobbies — the Aye lobby for yes and the No lobby for no — where they are counted and their names recorded.

When Parliament is dissolved ahead of a general election, all MPs cease to be MPs; those who want to return must stand as candidates and be elected again.

The Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, meets in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

The Scottish Parliament sits at Holyrood in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

Both Houses of the UK Parliament meet in the Palace of Westminster in London, on the bank of the River Thames.

People doing jury service are not paid for it, but they can claim back expenses including travel and food, and an allowance towards loss of earnings, within set limits.

The Speaker must be politically impartial, so on taking the chair they give up their party allegiance and do not take part in party politics.

The Lord Speaker sits on the Woolsack, a large cushion stuffed with wool, at the front of the House of Lords chamber.

Specially trained magistrates also sit in the Family Court, which deals with matters affecting children and families.

In Scotland, prosecutions are brought by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; the local procurator fiscal decides whether a case should go to court.

The Electoral Commission is the independent body that oversees elections and regulates political party and election finance in the UK.

Because MPs cannot formally resign, an MP who wants to leave applies for a nominal Crown office — Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds or of the Manor of Northstead — which makes them ineligible to sit, and a by-election follows.

In Scotland a jury can return one of three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not proven; like a not guilty verdict, 'not proven' means the person is acquitted.

The Prime Minister is also First Lord of the Treasury — the title appears on the letterbox of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official home.

The Privy Council is the body of senior advisers — including senior politicians and judges — who formally advise the monarch; much of its work is formal, such as approving orders made in the monarch's name.

The British Transport Police is the specialist force for Britain's railway network, including stations and trains, and since 2013 Scotland's regional forces have been merged into the single service Police Scotland. England and Wales are policed by 43 separate regional forces, not one national force, and the Metropolitan Police covers London rather than the railways.