Westminster from the inside
The public sector map and the House of Commons.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Where
- The Public Sector
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
This module builds a shared map of the wider public sector, starting with the Office for National Statistics classification and the principle that every public body exists through a statutory duty and specific powers granted by Parliament or the Senedd. It compares five landscapes, three routes into leadership and the lines of accountability in each, and shows how devolution and 2026 reforms are redrawing the map. This module looks at how the House of Commons makes law and holds government to account. It covers the two roles of an MP, the layout of the chamber, the stages of a bill from First Reading to Royal Assent and statutory instruments, then select committees, the Public Accounts Committee with the National Audit Office and the Liaison Committee: no power to compel, real power to expose.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Classify any public body using the ONS three way map and identify the statutory duty and specific powers it works from.
- Compare how leaders get into post and are held to account across central government, the NHS, policing, fire and rescue and local government.
- Apply the six questions to a public body you work with, including how devolution and reform under way change the answers.
- Describe the constituency and parliamentary roles of an MP and the stages a bill passes through from First Reading to Royal Assent.
- Explain how select committees are composed and chaired, and what they can and cannot do, including the Public Accounts Committee and the Liaison Committee.
- Prepare your organisation to give evidence to Parliament, recognising that committee power rests on exposure rather than compulsion.
The Modules.
1 hour 30 minutes of learning.
- 01Foundations: Mapping the Wider Public SectorThis module builds a shared map of the wider public sector, starting with the Office for National Statistics classification and the principle that every public body exists through a statutory duty and specific powers granted by Parliament or the Senedd. It compares five landscapes, three routes into leadership and the lines of accountability in each, and shows how devolution and 2026 reforms are redrawing the map.41 min
- 02Westminster I: The House of Commons, Legislation and Select CommitteesThis module looks at how the House of Commons makes law and holds government to account. It covers the two roles of an MP, the layout of the chamber, the stages of a bill from First Reading to Royal Assent and statutory instruments, then select committees, the Public Accounts Committee with the National Audit Office and the Liaison Committee: no power to compel, real power to expose.41 min
Keep going.
Part of the The Public Sector topic, also sold whole as How the public sector works.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 30 minutes, £39
- Next stepFocus, The national picture, 2 hours 30 minutes, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- Explore, Power at the centre, 4 hours, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
- The whole topicImmerse, How the public sector works, 10 hours, £249. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £210.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Knowing the public landscape
Other Bitesize in the The Public Sector topic
- Lords and WhitehallThe House of Lords and the centre of government1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Wales and the NHSThe Senedd and the NHS in England1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Health and policingThe NHS in Wales and policing governance1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Fire and the council differenceFire and rescue governance and how local government differs1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Housing and working togetherWhere housing sits, and multi-agency working1 hour 30 minutes£39
- Two nations comparedEngland and Wales compared, with case studies1 hour 30 minutes£39