Lib-Con policy document: Key points
The key points from the coalition’s 30-page policy document.
This page only includes new policy details announced on May 20th. For details of policies announced last week click here.
Animal rights
“We will end the testing of household products on animals and work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research.”
BBC
“We will maintain the independence of the BBC, and give the National Audit Office full access to the BBC’s accounts to ensure transparency. We will enable partnerships between local newspapers, radio and television stations to promote a strong and diverse local media industry.”
Big Society
“We will support the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises, and enable these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services. We will give public sector workers a new right to form employee-owned co-operatives and bid to take over the services they deliver. This will empower millions of public sector workers to become their own boss and help them to deliver better services. We will introduce National Citizen Service. The initial flagship project will provide a programme for 16 year olds to give them a chance to develop the skills needed to be active and responsible citizens, mix with people from different backgrounds, and start getting involved in their communities. We will use funds from dormant bank accounts to establish a ‘Big Society Bank’, which will provide new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, social enterprises and other non-governmental bodies.”
Civil liberties
“We will urgently review control orders, as part of a wider review of counter-terrorist legislation, measures and programmes. We will seek to find a practical way to allow the use of intercept evidence in court.”
EU
“We support the further enlargement of the EU.”
Fox hunting
“We will bring forward a motion on a free vote enabling the House of Commons to express its view on the repeal of the Hunting Act.”
Gay rights
“We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution. We will use our relationships with other countries to push for unequivocal support for gay rights and for UK civil partnerships to be recognised internationally.”
Health
“We will give local communities greater control over public health budgets with payment by the outcomes they achieve in improving the health of local residents.
Home Information Packs (Hips)
“We will retain energy performance certificates while scrapping Hips.”
Human Rights Act
“We will establish a Commission to investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights that incorporates and builds on all our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, ensures that these rights continue to be enshrined in British law, and protects and extends British liberties. We will seek to promote a better understanding of the true scope of these obligations and liberties. We believe that Britain should be able to deport foreign nationals who threaten our security to countries where there are verifiable guarantees that they will not be tortured. We will seek to extend these guarantees to more countries.”
Immigration
“We will create a dedicated Border Police Force, as part of a refocused Serious Organised Crime Agency, to enhance national security, improve immigration controls and crack down on the trafficking of people, weapons and drugs. We will work with police forces to strengthen arrangements to deal with serious crime and other cross-boundary policing challenges, and extend collaboration between forces to deliver better value for money. We support E-borders and will reintroduce exit checks. We will apply transitional controls as a matter of course in the future for all new EU Member States.”
International development
“We will honour our commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on overseas aid from 2013, and to enshrine this commitment in law. We will create new mechanisms to give British people a direct say in how an element of the aid budget is spent.
Legal aid
“We will carry out a fundamental review of legal aid to make it work more efficiently.”
Lobbying
“We will regulate lobbying through introducing a statutory register and lobbyists and ensuring greater transparency.”
Local government
“We will ban the use of [surveillance] powers in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) by councils, unless they are signed off by a magistrate and required for stopping serious crime.”
Music
“We will cut red tape to encourage the performance of more live music.”
Parliament
“We will put a limit on the number of spcial advisors. We will ensure that any petititons that secure 100,000 signatures will be eligible for debate in parliament.
Public sector pay
“We will undertake a fair pay review in the public sector to implement our proposed ’20 times’ pay multiple.”
Royal Mail
We will seek to ensure an injection of private capital into Royal Mail, including opportunities for employee ownership. We will retain Post Office Ltd in public ownership.
Social care
“We will establish a commission on long-term care, to report within a year. The commission will consider a range of ideas, including both a voluntary insurance scheme to protect the assets of those who go into residential care, and a partnership scheme as proposed by Derek Wanless. We will break down barriers between health and social care funding to incentivise preventative action.”
Sport
“We will encourage the reform of football governance rules to support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters.”
