Chapter 5: Government, Law & Your Role — Set 8

The British Transport Police is the specialist force for the railway network in England, Wales and Scotland, including stations and trains.

In 2013 Scotland's eight regional forces were merged into one national service, Police Scotland, formally the Police Service of Scotland.

The Royal Courts of Justice house the High Court and the Court of Appeal, which deal with important civil cases and appeals from lower courts.

The Inns of Court, in London, are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales; every barrister must be a member of one of them.

There are four Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Gray's Inn.

Parish councils — called town councils in towns — are the smallest tier of local government in England, looking after very local amenities and services.

Fireworks and tobacco are age-restricted products that may only be sold to people aged 18 or over. The minimum age for buying a National Lottery ticket or scratch card is 16 (the figure given in the official handbook), and you can start learning to drive a car at 17.

The minimum age for buying tobacco and cigarettes in the UK is 18, and parental permission does not change that.

It is an offence to tattoo anyone under 18, and parental consent makes no difference.

It is an offence to sell a knife or blade to anyone under 18 (a small folding penknife with a short blade is the main exception).

You need a TV licence to watch or record television as it is broadcast — live TV on any channel or service, on any device, including a phone — and the licence fee mainly funds the BBC's television, radio and online services. Watching a film later on a streaming service does not by itself require a licence, and the fee does not provide free televisions for pensioners.

A share of National Lottery income is distributed to good causes across the UK, funding arts, sport, heritage and community projects.

Census returns are closed for 100 years to protect the confidentiality people were promised when they gave their information; only then can family historians see them.

Taking part in the census is a legal requirement for every household — not just homeowners — and failing to complete it can lead to prosecution and a fine. Individual census answers are kept confidential for 100 years before the records can be opened to the public.

The Returning Officer is the official in charge of conducting the election in a constituency, including organising the poll and the count and declaring the result.

Polling station staff (presiding officers and poll clerks) check the register, mark that you have voted, and issue your ballot paper; your choice itself is secret.

You fold the ballot paper to keep your vote secret and place it in the sealed ballot box, which is only opened when counting begins after polls close.

Voters mark a cross (X) in the box next to the one candidate they choose; in first-past-the-post elections each voter picks a single candidate.

The poll card confirms you are on the register for that election and tells you the address of your polling station and the hours it is open.

IPSA was created in 2009 so that MPs no longer decide their own pay and expenses; it sets pay and administers and regulates their business costs independently.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman independently investigates unresolved complaints about UK government departments and the NHS in England.

Complaints about government departments reach the Parliamentary Ombudsman through an MP, who passes the complaint on with the person's consent; NHS complaints in England can be made directly.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman independently investigates complaints about councils and care providers in England once the organisation's own complaints procedure has been completed.

Scotland's Children's Hearings system deals both with children who offend and with those who need care or protection, focusing on the child's welfare rather than punishment.