on 31-Mar-2015 (Tue)

Loch Lomond is the largest expanse of fresh water in mainland Britain

Proceedings in Parliament are broadcast on television and published in official reports called Hansard.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has 108 elected members

If you don’t know which local authority you come under, you can find out by visiting www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and entering your postcode.

In Scotland the elected members, called MSPs, meet in the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh

In Northern Ireland elected members, known as MLAs, meet in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, in Belfast

In Wales the elected members, known as AMs, meet in the Welsh Assembly in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay

Anyone can make a complaint about the police by going to a police station or writing to the Chief Constable of the police force involved.

Complaints about the police can also be made to an independent body: the Independent Police Complaints Commission in England and Wales, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland or the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if an accused person is aged 10 to 17, the case is normally heard in a Youth Court in front of up to three specially trained magistrates or a District Judge.

In Scotland a system called the Children’s Hearings System is used to deal with children and young people who have committed an offence.

Northern Ireland has a system of youth conferencing to consider how a child should be dealt with when they have committed an offence.

The jury has to listen to the evidence presented at the trial and then decide a verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ based on what they have heard. In Scotland, a third verdict of ‘not proven’ is also possible.

More serious civil cases – for example, when a large amount of compensation is being claimed – are dealt with in the High Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, the most serious civil cases are dealt with in the Court of Session in Edinburgh.