Queen’s Speech in full
All the details on the bills announced by the Queen during the state opening of parliament today.
Financial services bill
The purpose of the financial services bill is to ensure that the system that emerges from the crisis is fairer, works better for consumers and will monitor and manage system-wide risks.
Will establish a new statutory Council for Financial Stability (‘the Council’) to replace the Standing Committee. This will be chaired by the chancellor and comprise the Treasury, Bank of England and the Financial services Authority.
Will take action, nationally and internationally on renumeration.
Banks will be required to set up recovery and resolution plans
Ban on unsolicited credit card cheques to help prevent customers borrowing more than they can afford
Roll-out of national money guidance service, delivered by new Consumer Financial Education Body
Fiscal responsibility bill
The purpose of the bill is to put the deficit reduction plan on a statutory footing, in order to half the deficit over four years and ensure that government debt is sustainable in the medium term.
Change to structure of fiscal policy by giving parliament power to approve multi-year fiscal plans. Accountability and scrutiny will be through parliament rather than in a new external body.
The chancellor will set out full details in the Pre-Budget Report.
Personal care at home bill
The purpose of the bill is first step towards setting up new National Care Service to offer free personal care at home for people with the highest needs, regardless of means.
Currently local authorities provide certain community care services free of charge but this is limited to a six week period only.
This will help around 400,000 people with care needs.
Guarantees free personal care for the 280,000 with the highest needs
Protect 160,000 currently on free care from future charges
Help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time
Offer home adaptations or technology to reduce a person’s care needs
Invest £130m in re-enablement and prevention to enable people to live at home for longer
Children, schools and families bill
The bill will raise educational standards by providing guarantees – a series of specific entitlements for parents and pupils on what they can expect from a 21st century schools system and a means of redress if expectations are not met.
Updated school curriculum. Schools will have greater flexibility to tailor teaching to the needs and interest of their children, while continuing to focus on Information Communications Technology (ICT).
Introduction of new school report card.
Puts personal, social and health education (PSHE) on a statutory footing and ensure that all young people receive at last one year of sex and relationships education.
Boost public standing of teachers through a new licensing scheme to create a new learning culture in every school’s staff
New home educators’ registration system and new powers for Secretaries of state to intervene in youth offending teams that are failing
Commitment to review publication of information relating to family proceedings
Crime and security bill
The purpose of the bill is to make parents take responsibility for their child’s antisocial behaviour and introduce new powers to help victims break the cycle of domestic violence.
Introduce mandatory assessment of parenting needs whenever a ten to 15-year-old is being considered for an Asbo and imposing parenting orders where the young person has breached their Asbo.
Reduce information recorded on stop and search forms.
Domestic violence: ‘Go orders’ will allow police to bar a suspected perpetrator from their homes for a fixed period of time even if they are not charged.
Legal requirement for airguns to be stored out of the reach of children.
Additional criminal offence under Prison Act 1952 for possession of mobile phone device within a prison without authorisation
Compulsory licensing scheme for all wheel clamping businesses, limiting size of penalties imposed and introducing fair appeals process.
Indefinitely retaining the DNA records of convicted offenders and holding the DNA of adults who are arrested, but not charged, for six years.
Allowing police to take DNA samples and fingerprints at any time post conviction for a serious crime and to take them from serious violent and sexual offenders returning to the UK following conviction overseas.
Digital economy bill
The purpose of the bill is to promote a competitive digital communications infrastructure and secure public service content through provision of news regionally and locally.
Online infringement of copyright – educate consumers about copyright online and use reserve powers of disconnection.
Giving Ofcom powers to appoint and fund Independently Funded News Consortia
Ofcom: duty to carry out assessment of UK’s communications infrastructure every two years
Spectrum modernisation of mobile and wireless broadband
Digital radio – moves for digital switchover for radio possible by 2015
Channel 4 to encompass public service content on all media platforms – online as well as television
Video games: making age ratings compulsory for all games designed for those aged 12 or above
Energy bill
The purpose of the bill is to provide support for energy consumers, giving greater help to the most vulnerable and introducing a new financial incentive for carbon capture and storage demonstration projects.
Provide mandatory social price support in form of electricity rebate bill.
Ofgem to tackle market exploitation where companies take advantage of constraints in the electricity transmission grid.
Extending time limit from 12 months to 5 years within which Ofem can impose financial penalties for breaches of licence conditions.
New carbon capture and storage (CCS) incentive to support construction of up to four commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects
High-speed Rail Services
Company ‘High Speed Two’ (HS2) Ltd will consider case for new high speed rail services between London and Scotland and develop a proposal for a new line between London and the West Midlands.
£10 billion dedicated to increase capacity on rail network over next 5 years.
Flood and water management bill
The purpose of the bill is to provide better, more sustainable managed of flood risk for people, homes and businesses, help safeguard communities from unaffordable rises in surface water drainage charges and protect water supplies to the consumer.
Responsibilities for managing all flood risks clearly defined. Local authorities to be responsible for surface water flooding – assigned in law for first time.
Sustainable Drainage systems to be considered for new developments.
New powers to help water companies better control non-essential domestic uses of water during periods of water shortage
Bodies managing flood risk required to take environmental considerations into account (sustainability duty)
Water companies to operate concessionary schemes relating to surface water draining charges
Equality bill
The purpose of the bill is to set out new laws to help narrow the gap between the rich and poor, require businesses to report on gender pay, outlaw age discrimination and strengthen anti-discrimination legislation.
Ban on age discrimination outside the workplace i.e. when buying or receiving goods and services like healthcare
Introducing gender pay reports. Public authorities with more than 150 employees will be required to report on gender pay. Business with more than 250 employees will be asked.
Equality duty on public bodies to consider needs of diverse groups in the community.
Use £200 billion of public procurement to drive equality in the private sector
Strengthen powers of employment tribunals
Protecting carers from discrimination
Protecting pregnant women and new mothers
Banning discrimination in private clubs
Strengthening protection from discrimination for disabled people
Child poverty bill
The purpose of the bill is to provide a clear definition of the eradication of child poverty by 2020 setting four targets based on the proportion of children living in : relative low income, combined income and material deprivation, absolute low income and persistent poverty.
To ensure everyone has a fair chance in life.
Annual reports to parliament on success of government’s child poverty strategies
Establish Child Poverty Commission to provide independent advice on strategies. This advice will be published.
Placing a duty on all local authorities and their partners to co-operate to tackle child poverty in their area. Required to conduct a local needs assessment and produce joint local child poverty strategy.
Agency workers regulations 2010
Give fair treatment to agency workers. After 12 weeks in a job agency workers will get the right to equal treatment with permanent staff on pay, holidays and other basic conditions.
Constitutional reform and governance bill
The purpose of the bill is to rebalance the relationship between parliament, the government and the public and to reinforce transparency and accountability across government.
Place the civil service on a statutory footing, enshrining it’s core values in statue.
Create statutory basis for parliamentary scrutiny of treaties, prior to their ratification.
End by-election of hereditary peers to sit in House of Lords.
Disqualification of peers convicted of a serious criminal offence or who are subject to a bankruptcy restriction order
Provide power for House of Lords to expel or suspend a member
Allow peers to resign and disclaim their peerage
Repeal legislation that limits protest around parliament
Remove prime minister from process of appointments to President, Deputy President and judges of the Supreme Court
Inclusion of spending of non-departmental public bodies in Estimates and Accounts of responsible govt department
House of lords reform – draft bill
The purpose of the draft legislation is to take forward the vote of the House of Commons in March 2007 in favour of a wholly or substantially elected second Chamber.
Reformed second chamber should be 80 per cent or 100 per cent elected
Bishops should not retain reserved places in a 100 per cent elected House
Link between a peerage and place in the second chamber should be broken
Government should not hold a majority in the second chamber
No changes to the powers of the second chamber and the House of Commons should retain its primacy
Bribery bill
The purpose of the bill is to strengthen the law against bribery, through provision of a modern, comprehensive scheme of bribery offences to equip the courts to deal effectively with bribery at home and abroad.
Introduction of modern, consolidated bribery law, based on the recommendation of the Law Commission
Creation of a discrete offence of bribery of a foreign public official in order to obtain or retain business
Offences would cover the offering, promising or giving or a bribe and the agreeing to receive or accepting of a bribe.
Cluster munitions (prohibitions) bill
The purpose of the bill is to create prohibitions on the sue, production and transfer of cluster munitions and implement the UK’s international obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)
Definition of cluster munitions and relevant explosive bomblets
Establishes offences in relation to these prohibited munitions
Powers to enter and search premises for prohibited munitions, powers to remove and destroy prohibited munitions
International development spending – draft bill
The bill would ensure Britain contributes to increased global aid levels necessary to meet the Millennium Development goals.
Requirement to ensure that 0.7 per cent of GNI is spend on ODA (Official Development Assistance)
Requirement to report progress to parliament annually
