The United Kingdom Parliament is the supreme legislative institution in the UK. Its main functions involve: the examination of proposals for new laws; the scrutinising of government policy; and the debate of major issues of the day. The UK Parliament is split into an Upper House, called the House of Lords, and a Lower House, the House of Commons. If you want to know more about the general structure and processes of the two Houses, click here to find out how Parliament works.

The links on the left contain information on Parliament's involvement with matters of foreign affairs. Identified in this section are the major Select Committees of both the Commons and the Lords and their role in international issues. There are also links which explain the function of the major government departments involved in foreign policy, and the key foreign affairs teams of the three major UK political parties.

The annual FCO command paper, The United Kingdom in the United Nations, was presented by Minister of State Kim Howells to Parliament in July 2006. The paper outlines the UK 's contribution to the work of the UN and – on page five – highlights the joint FCO-UNA public consultation on UN reform which took place in 2005 and which resulted in the publication of UNA-UK’s report, In Larger Freedom in the UK. The command paper also notes UNA-UK’s continuing “important role in raising awareness about the UN in the UK”. Click here to read the report The UK in the UN, and here to read UNA-UK's In Larger Freedom in the UK.