Living standards.

Marked improvements in the standard of living for people in Britain have taken place during the 20th century. According to the United Nations, in 1997 Britain ranked fifteenth out of 175 countries on a human development index that combines life expectancy, education levels and basic purchasing power. Earnings from employment remain the main source of household income for most people, although other sources such as private pensions and annuities have become more important. Disposable income - the amount of money people have available to spend after income tax, National Insurance and contributions to pension schemes have been deducted - is now at its highest-ever level. Since the 1970s there has been little change in the distribution of marketable wealth, half of which is owned by the richest 10 per cent of people. A large proportion of personal wealth in Britain is in residential property. There has also been growth in share ownership in recent years. Average weekly household spending in Britain is about ₤311. Food and housing costs constitute 18 and 16 per cent of this. Transport and leisure pursuits account for about 16 per cent each.

12. The British constitutionthe British employ a mixture of statute law (Acts of Parliament); common law (ancient judge-made law); and conventions (or principles and practices of government which, although not legally binding, are generally accepted as having the force of law). Since Parliament is for most purposes still the supreme legislative authority. The common law can be extended by the judges in the legal process, and conventions can be altered, formed or abolished by general agreement. Precedents are vital devices in the operation of Parliament, the administrative bodies and the courts of law. These elements, which together with some ancient documents make up the British constitutional framework, arc said to be flexible and simple enough to respond quickly to new conditions should that be necessary. constitutional system is largely dependent upon conventions and observing the rules of the game, has been admired in the past. But the system has been increasingly criticized in recent years. Governments have become more radical in their policies, and have been able to implement them because of strong majorities in the Commons. Some critics argue that the British political system no longer works satisfactorily. They maintain that its institutions are too centralized, and that the traditional bases are no longer adequate for the organization of a complex, mass society. Today is usually described as a constitutional monarchy, or parliamentary system. While the monarch still has a role to play on some executive and legislative levels, it is Parliament which possesses the essential legislative power, and the government of the day which governs by initiating and controlling political policy and legislation. The correct constitutional definition of Parliament is the 'Queen-in-Parliament'. In constitutional theory, the British people hold the political sovereignty to choose their government, while Parliament, consisting partly of their elected representatives in the Commons, possesses the legal sovereignty to make laws. The monarch is formally head of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. A Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords may both be in the government of the day. A Law Lord in the House of Lords also serves the House of Lords as the highest appeal court. The legislature, which consists of both Houses of Parliament and formally the monarch, is for most purposes the supreme law-making body. The executive comprises the sitting government and its Cabinet, together with government ministries or departments headed by ministers or secretaries of state, who all act formally in the name of the monarch. The judiciary is composed mainly of the judges of the higher courts, who determine the common law and interpret Acts of Parliament. The judiciary is supposed to be independent of the legislative and executive branches of government.

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Ethnic minorities.	\|	The monarchy

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