The coalition Government announced 24 Bills in its first Queen’s Speech – which had ‘freedom, fairness and responsibility’ as its central message. It was a high number, but this Parliament is due to run for 18 months and will also sit in September (providing it wins a vote on this). The Queen said that her Government’s first priority would be to ‘reduce the deficit and restore economic growth’.
Focus on the Economy
The priority was the confirmation of a new Office for Budget Responsibility to manage the public finances. The Queen announced reforms to the tax and benefits system in order to make it ‘simpler and fairer’. In a nod to the ‘Big Society’, the Queen announced support for people to get into work but with sanctions for those who refuse available jobs. Changes to National Insurance to ‘safeguard jobs’ were announced, as well as legislation to ensure transparent payments to Equitable Life policy holders.
Constitutional Change
The Queen confirmed proposals for fixed term Parliaments of five years; the right for constituents to recall their MPs in exceptional circumstances; a referendum on Alternative Vote for the Commons; resized and fewer constituencies; a reformed second House elected ‘wholly or mainly’ by proportional representation and reform of the funding of political parties.
‘Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility’
The coalition will build on Tony Blair’s reforms in health and education. More schools will be able to achieve academy status and new providers will be given greater opportunities to take over state schools. Teachers will also be able to exercise greater freedom over the national curriculum. In the NHS, the coalition intend to give patients a greater voice and strengthen the role of doctors. In Local Government, a Bill will give councils more devolved power and ‘give local communities control over housing and planning decisions’.
The coalition intend to ensure that non-Governmental bodies carry out as much social support as possible. The role of social enterprises, charities and co-operatives in public services will be enhanced, whilst the numbers of public bodies are reduced. Keeping with the ‘Big Society’ emphasis of the election campaign, today’s speech also confirmed plans to make the police service more accountable to local people.
18 Months to Prove the Coalition
This coalition’s first Queen’s Speech sets out a strong programme of constitutional and societal reform and continues the strong start which the coalition has enjoyed so far. The likely challenges for the new Government will come from external ‘events’ and the speed with which it responds as a collective to immediate challenges. It will also come from internal factors – the pressures of keeping discipline within the two parliamentary parties and their wider party members.
Economy & Finance
Despite speculation over the weekend, the new Financial Services Regulation Bill does not contain the expected measures to introduce a levy on the profits of UK banks or moves on bank bonuses. The Bill does however begin the process of changing the tripartite system of financial regulation first introduced by Labour in 1997. Measures to give the Bank of England control of macro-prudential regulation and oversight of micro-prudential regulation were widely anticipated. What this means for the Conservatives pre-election promise of a Consumer Protection Agency is less certain. Other Bills of interest include the Office of Budget Responsibility Bill, that would create an independent body to publish economic forecasts upon which the Chancellor will rely in advance of the emergency Budget later this year, a National Insurance Contributions Bill that will increase rates of contributions from April 2011, and an Equitable Life Bill, that will give HM Treasury authority to incur expenditure in making payments to policyholders.
Health
A Health Bill will be brought forward to allow continuing health priorities to be implemented. The Government will create a new public health service within the Department of Health. This will ensure: public health funding will be ring-fenced; allocations weighted towards disadvantaged areas and managed by local NHS with support from local organizations; payments according to outcomes; and GPs incentivised to prevent illness. Plans on public health are to be published soon, following consultation on ring-fencing of the budget and payment by results. The Health Secretary will announce plans this week which will include measures to: reduce the ‘top-down’ approach by giving more choice and control to patients and more decision making power to doctors; set up an interim Cancer Drug Fund operational from April 2011 to ensure patients have access to the best treatment; eliminate targets that have no clinical justification; meet efficiency savings targets of £15-20 bn by becoming less bureaucratic.
Defence
The Queen has reiterated the Government’s commitment to conducting a ‘full Strategic Defence and Security Review’. In addition, an Armed Forces Bill is expected to increase support for serving personnel, building on the core ambition of improving the covenant, the Bill will maximise leave periods and give more assistance to Armed Forces families, including extra mental health services for veterans.
Transport
Following the coalition agreement to scrap proposals to build a third runway at Heathrow, the Airport Economic Regulation Bill hopes to create a competitive aviation industry which will maximise UK economic growth within the existing runway infrastructure. The Bill will reform the framework for the economic regulation of airports to benefit passengers and drive investment in airport facilities. The Speech also announced a non-legislative item to “enable the construction of a high-speed railway network” to improve travel times within the UK and reduce the demand for domestic flights. Current investigations have identified potential routes connecting London to Birmingham and Manchester at significantly reduced journey times, and estimate that every £1 invested in the infrastructure would generate benefits of more than £2.
Energy & Environment
The Energy Bill will bring about a ‘Green Deal’ which will promote enhanced energy efficiency in both homes and businesses, a main feature of this will be the roll-out of smart meters coupled with promoting low-carbon energy production. The Government will make it a requirement for energy companies to provide more information on consumers’ bills. In addition, it has also pledged to open up access to North Sea infrastructure.
Home Affairs
The Government has introduced the Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill to regulate CCTV, limit the use of the DNA database (along Scottish lines) and to only hold internet and email records when necessary. The Identity Documents Acts will abolish the ID cards scheme and the National Identity Register. The Office of the Identity Commissioner will also be scrapped. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill will introduce local ‘directly elected individuals’ to ‘hold the police to account’, a long-held Conservative policy. Health and safety laws will also be injected with a dose of ‘common sense’. In terms of immigration, secondary legislation will be introduced to impose a cap on non-EU immigration, and the detention of migrants’ children will be stopped. A new Border Police Force will be created to be part of a newly-refocused Serious Organised Crime Agency. Conservative plans with regard to anti-social behaviour have made it into the speech, which will give local authorities more say over the granting and refusal of licences, selling alcohol at below cost – price will be banned, and late night licences will be allowed to be removed by local councils.
