Overview
Students examine ways in which a fictional town council could spend its budget. They consider the concerns of different residents and analyse how the budget could be spent most effectively. Finally students present and justify their budgets, defending their decision making in front of ‘local residents’.
Aimed at KS4 or Post-16, by the end of the lesson students will:
- Describe the role of local government;
- Consider some of the competing demands on local council budgets;
- Present their ideas on how a local council budget should be spent, reflecting on the different needs of the community.
Acknowledgements:

More Lessons resources
Home Learning Pack
This home-learning pack has been designed to support SMSC, Citizenship and PSHE learning within a home environment. All the activities described have been taken from Go-Givers resources and adapted to…
I Am Unique
This lesson focuses on celebrating diversity and respecting differences. During the lesson pupils will gain an understanding of what it means to be unique through participating in a range of…
You Decide! (KS3)
This resource will allow students to critically consider what reasons and ways the government can take to support different...
More Economics, Money and Managing Resources resources
Employment Law (SmartLaw Subscription)
During this lesson students explore the law that applies to young workers and what they can do if they believe their legal rights at work are not being upheld. To…
Who’s Really Paying for COVID?
Young people are, and will continue to be, some of the most impacted by COVID. However their voices have...
Create a Local Council Budget
Students critically consider the needs of a fictitious town and how to spend it’s £250 million budget wisely. Working...
More Politics and Democracy resources
What is a Political Party?
This resource pack is the fourth of a four-part set which has been designed to introduce students to the...
Law Makers (SmartLaw Subscription)
In this lesson students examine what the rule of law is and why we need it. They consider how and why laws are made in the UK and what the…
You Decide! (KS3)
This resource will allow students to critically consider what reasons and ways the government can take to support different...
More KS4 (ages 14-16) resources
The Big Legal Lesson 2026 (ages 11-18+)
Join the UK's biggest legal education campaign during February 2025.
Family Law – Cohabitation and Marriage (SmartLaw Subscription)
During the course of the lesson students will learn the difference between marriage and cohabitation and consider what legal rights come with both. Students will explore the changing attitudes in…
How to share learning with your peers
Originally designed to be a companion pack for the Democracy Ambassadors programme, this handy toolkit will support students who...
More KS5 (ages 16-18) resources
Sexting and the Law (SmartLaw Subscription)
This lesson explores what the law says in relation to the sending of sexually explicit images by those aged under 18. The lesson examines two scenarios of young people involved…
The Big Legal Lesson 2026 (ages 11-18+)
Join the UK's biggest legal education campaign during February 2025.
Local and Central Government
This resource pack is the third of a four-part set which has been designed to introduce students to the...