Chamber Network says Queen’s Speech offers opportunity to make change for the better

Source: BBC

The Queen’s speech of Tuesday 11th May 2021 has set out more than two dozen planned bills for the government’s legislative programme in the coming parliament.

In a ten-minute speech in the House of Lords, she highlighted 30 laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year. This includes a number of bills carried over from the previous “session” of Parliament, which ended in April. It also includes a number of bills included in past Queen’s Speeches.

Here is a summary of the main points, which you can also download as a handy grid here.

Infrastructure and ‘levelling up’

– A Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will extend 5G mobile coverage and introduce new safety standards for digital devices

– A Subsidy Control Bill will set out post-Brexit regulations on how the government can support private companies, now the UK has left the EU’s “state aid” regime

– Another post-Brexit piece of legislation, the Procurement Bill, will replace EU rules on how the government buys services from the private sector

– Tax breaks for employers based in eight freeports to be set up in England later this year will be included in a National Insurance Contributions Bill

– A new UK agency to search for ground-breaking scientific discoveries will be established by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill

– New powers to build and operate the next stage of the HS2 high-speed rail line are contained in the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill

Armed forces

– Legacy legislation will deal with legacy issues from the Troubles in Northern Ireland, including restrictions on future prosecutions of British soldiers

– Government support for veterans will be outlined in a Armed Forces Bill, putting the so-called Armed Forces Covenant into law

Constitutional reform

– A Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill will get rid of the fixed five-year period between general elections and return the power to call early elections to the prime minister

– Plans to force voters in Great Britain to to prove their identity when they vote at general elections will be introduced in an Electoral Integrity Bill

– A Judicial Review Bill will set out the government’s plans to change how its decisions can be challenged in the courts