Chapter 5: The UK Government, the Law and Your Role

The Devolved Administrations

अंतिम जाँच: 15 July 2026

• 1Since 1997 some central government powers have been devolved to give the UK nations more control over matters directly affecting them.
• 2There has been a Welsh Assembly and a Scottish Parliament since 1999, and a Northern Ireland Assembly (with interruptions) since 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement (1998).
• 3Policy areas remaining under UK central government control: defence, foreign affairs, immigration, taxation and social security.
• 4The National Assembly for Wales sits in Cardiff Bay (the Senedd building); it has 60 Assembly Members (AMs), elected every four years.
• 5Assembly members can speak in Welsh or English, and all Assembly publications are in both languages.
• 6Since 2011 the Welsh Assembly has been able to pass laws for Wales in 20 devolved areas without the UK Parliament's agreement.
• 7The Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999 and sits at Holyrood in Edinburgh.
• 8There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected by a form of proportional representation.
• 9The Scottish Parliament can pass laws for Scotland on all matters not specifically reserved to the UK Parliament — including civil and criminal law, health, education, planning, and additional tax-raising powers.
• 10Northern Ireland had its own parliament from 1922 (when Ireland was partitioned), but it was abolished in 1972 after the Troubles broke out in 1969, and direct rule followed.
• 11The Northern Ireland Assembly, established soon after the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, sits at Stormont in Belfast and has 108 elected members (MLAs), elected by a form of proportional representation.
• 12The NI Assembly works on power-sharing principles between the main communities; ministerial posts are shared between the largest parties.
• 13The NI Assembly can make decisions on issues such as education, agriculture, the environment, health and social services.
• 14The UK government has the power to suspend devolved assemblies; the NI Assembly has been suspended several times, most recently (before the handbook) 2002–2007.