Draft Queen's Speech - 16th May, 2008

The Government has announced what Bills will be in the Queen's Speech this Autumn

Banking Reform Bill:

The aim of the Bill is to ensure that if financial stability in the UK is threatened, the authorities have a range of tools available to mitigate the risk, whilst protecting consumers, and minimising the impact on the economy overall.

The Bill would:

* Enabling the Bank of England to lend in a more effective manner, including by allowing short-term non-disclosure of liquidity assistance by the Bank of England.

* Enabling the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to collect information from banks in difficulties.

* Introduce a ‘special resolution regime’ to allow the authorities (HM Treasury, Bank of England and FSA) to intervene when a bank gets into severe difficulties. This includes the introduction of an insolvency regime for banks.

* Strengthening the arrangements underpinning banknote issuance by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Constitutional Renewal Bill:

The Bill would redistribute power away from the centralised state by improving civil liberties, strengthening Parliament and making the executive more accountable to the people it serves. The Civil Service would be placed on a statutory footing, by enshrining in law its core values of impartiality, integrity, honesty and objectivity, making provision for the appointment of special advisers and establishing an Independent Commission for the Civil Service. MPs would be given the final say on all treaties by placing in statute a requirement that they be laid before Parliament for 21 days before ratification and specifying the legal effects of a negative vote by the Commons or Lords.

The Attorney General would no longer be able to give a direction to prosecutors in individual cases, save in certain exceptional circumstances when the Attorney General will need to report to Parliament. The Attorney General will be required to report to Parliament annually on the exercise of his/her functions in any event The role of the Lord Chancellor would be reduced in judicial appointments below the level of High Court. The Prime Minister would be removed from the process of appointing Supreme Court judges.

The Bill would remove restrictions on protests around Parliament by repealing the requirement to give notice of demonstrations in the designated area and removing the offence of holding such a demonstration without the authorisation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Saving Gateway Bill:

The purpose of the Bill is to provide a financial incentive to saving among the poorest in society. The main benefits of the Bill are a national cash saving scheme for those on lower incomes, providing a financial incentive to save through matching (a government contribution for every pound saved).

The scheme will be open to people receiving state benefits. The scheme will start in 2010, with the first matched payments paid out to savers from 2012.

The scheme aims to kick-start a saving habit among people on lower incomes, enabling them to plan for the future and cope with financial pressure, and to promote financial inclusion by encouraging people to engage with financial institutions such as banks, building societies and credit unions.

Business Rate Supplements Bill:

The Bill would give upper tier local authorities (County Councils, Unitary Authorities and, in London, the Greater London Authority) the power to levy a local supplement on the business rate and retain the proceeds for economic development.

Marine and Coastal Access Bill:

The Bill will improve and simplify arrangements for managing marine development and protecting the marine environment and biodiversity, including a new planning system for the marine area and provide greater recreational access to the English coast. It will create greater recreational opportunities from increased public access to the English coast, with the economic benefits of recreation and tourism this will bring, particularly for small businesses.

Heritage Protection Bill

The Bill would create a more open, accountable and transparent heritage protection system and safeguard the cultural property of the United Kingdom and other nations during armed conflict.

Education and Skills Bill:

The Bill would promote excellence in schools and help ensure that every school becomes a good school; ensure a customer-driven skills and apprenticeship system; and create a new regulator for qualifications and tests and a development agency for curriculum, assessment and qualifications. It will ensure apprenticeships are more fit for purpose and better reflect the demands of employers by placing the Government’s Apprenticeship Programme on a statutory basis, establishing the National Apprenticeship Service and introducing a statutory entitlement to apprenticeships for suitably qualified young people.

Equality Bill:

The Bill would make Britain a fairer place where people have the opportunity to succeed whatever their race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief. Fairness and an absence of discrimination are the hallmarks of a modern, decent society, with a strong economy, which draws on the talents of all.

Welfare Reform Bill:

The Bill would further reform the welfare and benefit systems to improve support and incentives for people to move from benefits into work and to provide greater choice and control for disabled people. The Government remains committed to make progress towards the target on child poverty.
The Bill would give disabled people greater choice and control; strengthen parental responsibility; reduce welfare dependency; create requirements to undertake work, training or other activity in preparation for work.

Policing and Crime Reduction Bill:

The Bill would reduce bureaucracy and increase accountability in the Police Force and help reduce crime further. The Bill would provide 'a clear and powerful public voice' in decision-making through directly elected representatives. There will be a new arrangement for agreeing police pay, with the opportunity for all parties to give evidence before recommendations are made to Ministers, considering morale and motivation, recruitment and retention, as well as affordability.

Transport Security Bill:

The Bill would establish new arrangements for airport security and implement the UK’s international obligations to combat terrorist acts at sea.

Communications Data Bill:

The Bill would allow communications data capabilities for the prevention and detection of crime and protection of national security to keep up with changing technology through providing for the collection and retention of such data, including data not required for the business purposes of communications service providers; and to ensure strict safeguards continue to strike the proper balance between privacy and protecting the public.

Law Reform, Victims and Witnesses Bill:

The Bill would deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive justice system for victims, witnesses and the wider public. It would increase provisions in courts for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including witnesses in cases involving guns and other offensive weapons, by amending and extending special measures such as live video links and screens around witness boxes.

Criminals will be prevented from profiting from books and other publications about their crimes through the introduction of a civil recovery scheme.

Citizenship, Immigration and Borders Bill:

The Bill would replace all existing immigration legislation with a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework to control our borders, manage migration and reform the path to citizenship. Citizenship would have to be earned. Eligibility requirements would be set out. Applicants and the wider public would have a clearer picture of the path to citizenship for migrants; and of the process by which citizenship can be earned.

Coroners and Death Certification Bill:

The Bill would deliver an improved system of death investigation for families so that they can be assured that the cause of death of their relative has been properly established and that, where possible, lessons can be learned to prevent future deaths.

The Bill would create new national coroner service, moving towards whole time coroners working to national minimum standards (funding responsibility will remain with local authorities). A new group of medical examiners would be established to scrutinise independently the causes of death given by doctors on death certificates. A new Chief Coroner would be the head of the coroner service.

National Health Service Reform Bill:

The Bill would take forward those proposals arising from Lord Darzi’s ‘NHS Next Stage Review’ of the NHS in England that would require legislation to enable their implementation. The Bill would establish an NHS Constitution;

Community Empowerment, Housing and Economic Regeneration Bill:

The Bill would create greater opportunities for community and individual empowerment, reform local and regional governance arrangements to promote economic regeneration and continue the Government’s programme of housing reform.It would strengthen the role of local authorities in promoting and delivering economic development, including, subject to consultation, implementing a proposed new statutory duty on local authorities to assess local economic conditions, and supporting greater collaboration between local authorities in this area, including, subject to consultation, the potential to develop statutory partnerships;

Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel Bill:

The Bill would fulfil the commitment to provide protection for the new humanitarian symbol (a red crystal) and to extend the legislative protection afforded to United Nations and Associated Personnel. The Bill would fulfil the United Kingdom’s commitment for the adoption of a new humanitarian emblem and the commitment to ratify the enabling Third Protocol to the Geneva Conventions signed by the UK on January 8, 2006.