Special housing needs for the elderly are met by local authorities, housing associations, voluntary bodies and the private sector. Sheltered housing schemes may consist of groups of flats or small houses where older people can live independently but still have the support of a resident warden. For those people who are too infirm to continue to live independently there are residential homes providing full board, or nursing homes offering 24-hour personal care.
YOUNG PEOPLE
The home is the central focus of most young people's lives in Britain, particularly for those who are still attending school (see p.31). The majority rely upon their home environment as a place of security and upon their parents as the main providers of food, money and other necessary amenities for life - as well as general advice. Young people spend a large proportion of their leisure time in the home with other members of their family or with friends.
After the home, school is the main social environment where children not only receive their formal education but also develop their identities within peer groups. All schoolchildren in Britain are encouraged to take up activities which complement their academic and vocational education and help to identify their individual talents, such as sports, drama, music and creative pursuits. Many of these form part of school curricula.
The personal development and informal social education of young people aged 11-25 is also promoted by the Youth Service in Britain. The Service is a partnership between statutory authorities and a large number of voluntary organisations. A recent survey estimated that nearly 6 million young people in this age group are either current or past participants in the Service.
Youth clubs and centres are the most common types of Youth Service provision, encouraging their members to participate in sport, cultural and creative activities, and community service. Some also provide information and counselling. Youth clubs may be branches of national or international bodies or they may be entirely local institutions.
There are many religious groups and churches with specialist youth organisations, as well as uniformed organisations such as the Guides and Scouts Associations and Boys' and Girls' Brigades.
Finance is provided by many foundations and trusts for activities which develop the latent talents of Britain's young people. The Prince's Trust and the Royal Jubilee Trust, for example, help individuals and organisations active in youth-oriented projects related to urban deprivation, unemployment, homelessness and young offending. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme challenges young people to achieve certain standards in community service, expeditions, social and practical skills and physical recreation.
WOMEN
There is a ratio of about 104 females to every 100 males in Britain. There are about 3 per cent more male than female births every year. Because of the higher mortality of men at all ages, there is a turning point, at about 50 years of age, beyond which the number of women exceeds the number of men. This imbalance increases with age so that there are many more women among the elderly.
The economic and domestic lives of women have been transformed in during the 20th century. These changes are partly due to the removal of discrimination in political and legal rights which has promoted sex equality. Another major feature has been the increase in the number of women, especially married women, at work. The growth of part-time and flexible working patterns, and training and retraining schemes, has allowed more women to take advantage of employment opportunities. Childcare provision, such as day nurseries and childminders, has also increased significantly, extending choice and opportunity for women beyond the scope of home and family.
Women now make up over two-fifths of the workforce in Britain, and about 800,000 run their own businesses. They are increasingly represented in the professions. The proportion of public appointments held by women has risen to 30 per cent, and the number of women Members of Parliament has increased to over 60.
Women take up around all further and higher education places, and the provision of 'access' courses has helped those returning to education.
ETHNIC MINORITIES
For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain, either to escape political or religious persecution or in search of better economic opportunities. The Irish have long formed a large section of the population. Jewish refugees who came to Britain towards the end of the 19th century and in the 1930s were followed by other European refugees after 1945. Substantial immigration from the former colonies in the Caribbean and the South Asian sub-continent dates principally from the 1950s and 1960s. There are also sizeable groups from the United States and
Canada, as well as Australians, Chinese, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards.
Since 1962 Britain has necessarily imposed controls limiting the number of immigrants to levels the country can absorb, both economically and socially. Immigration Rules set out the requirements to be met by people (excluding British citizens) who seek entry to or leave to remain in Britain. Nationals of European Union member states are not subject to substantive immigration control, and may work in Britain without restriction.
In the 1991 census just over 3 million people (5.5 per cent) described themselves as belonging to an ethnic group other than the 'white' group. Nearly half of the ethnic minority population were born in Britain. A higher proportion is under 16 than for the white group, but a much lower proportion is over pensionable age.
Many members of the black and Asian communities are concentrated in the inner cities, with related problems of deprivation, However, much progress has been made over the last 20 years in tackling racial disadvantage in Britain through equal opportunities policies backed up by anti-discrimination legislation, and through the social, economic and educational initiatives of central and local government.
Many individuals from the ethnic minority communities have achieved distinction in their careers and in public life, and the proportion occupying professional and managerial positions is increasing. There are at present six ethnic minority Members of Parliament, and the number of ethnic minority councillors in local government is growing. There has also been an expansion of commercial enterprise, and numerous self-help projects in ethnic minority communities have been established. Black competitors have represented Britain in a range of sporting activities (such as athletics and football), and ethnic minority talents in the arts and in entertainment have increasingly been recognised.
The British people enjoy a long-established democratic way of life, sustained by free elections, freedom of speech and open and equal treatment before the law. These rights are balanced by responsibilities, since a democratic society can only function when the people participate actively in its institutions.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
The basic principle of British democracy is that the people elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons to which the Government is accountable. The system provides effective channels for British citizens to influence their government as well as checks and balances to prevent any government from exceeding its powers. MPs have a duty to deal with problems and queries raised by their constituents, local organisations and pressure groups.
The most direct opportunity for the individual to influence the national political scene is during general elections (and by-elections) to the House of Commons, the centre of parliamentary power. Citizens aged IS and over, with a few exceptions, have the right to vote by secret ballot, 'although voting is not compulsory. Britain is divided into 651 constituencies, each represented by one MP. The average number of voters in a constituency ranges between 55,000 and 70,000.
Any British citizen, with few exceptions, can stand for election if aged 21 or over. Elections to the House of Commons have to be held at least once every five years. If an MP resigns or dies during the life of a Parliament a by-election is held.
In the 1992 general election 76.6 per cent of a total electorate of 43.3 million people exercised their right to vote. Support for the Conservatives is strongest in the southern half of England and East Anglia, while the Labour Party is more successful in Wales, Scotland and in urban industrialised areas. Support for the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, is particularly strong in the south west of England. Unionist (Protestant) panics hold the majority of the parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland, and a handful of seats are held by two nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. Support among British people for extremist political views is relatively small. British voters also elect 87 representatives to the European Parliament, which monitors the operation of the European Union. Direct elections take place in all Union member states every five years.
LOCAL DEMOCRACY
As well as taking part in parliamentary elections, people in Britain elect their representatives to local councils which provide services such as education, public housing, personal social services, police and fire brigades. Many candidates at local government elections stand as representatives of the main political parties, although there are some independent candidates, and some represent local interests. Candidates must live or work in the area of the local authority to which they seek election. Councillors serve part-time and are unpaid, except for certain expenses.
PRESSURE CROUPS
In addition to participation in parliamentary and local elections, people in Britain have other ways of expressing their views and trying to influence the way their lives are governed. Millions of people support pressure groups, which are informal organisations representing a vast array of interests and causes, and which are free to express their opinions and conduct campaigns without government interference. Pressure groups aim to influence those who are in authority in the way decisions are made-and carried out.
There is a huge range of pressure groups, covering areas such as politics, business, employment, consumer affairs, ethnic minorities, aid to developing countries, foreign relations, education, culture, defence, religion, sport, transport, health, social welfare, animal welfare and the environment. Some have over a million members; others only a few dozen. Some exert pressure on a number of different issues; others are only concerned with a single issue. Some have come to play a role in the way Britain is governed; others seek influence through radical protest.
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