Every year at the State Opening of Parliament, which marks the formal start of the parliamentary year, the Queen makes a speech in which she sets out the legislative agenda for the coming session, as proposed by the Government, and this year’s Speech, containing 11 Bills, promised to be bold, pro-work and pro-business.
In her Speech today (June 4), the Queen announced the laws the Government hopes to pass before the election in May next year. The legislative programme will then be debated later by MPs in the Commons.
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will allow small firms fair access to government and other public sector procurement, while there will be tougher penalties for firms flouting minimum wage rules and “abusing” zero hours contracts.
There were also two Bill concerning pensions. The Pension Tax Bill concerns reforms to annuities, which will mean that people will not be required to buy an annuity with their pension savings and will be able to draw their retirement income in one go, if they so choose.
Meanwhile, the Private Pensions Bill will allow employees to pay into collective pension funds shared with other workers. It is hoped that this measure will cut costs and encourage savings.
The Queen also spoke about a new state-funded childcare subsidy worth up to £2,000 per year per child, which will replace the existing employer-funded scheme.
There will also be extra legal protection for people carrying out good deeds for the benefit of society, meaning that those who volunteer or plan local events who end up being involved in liability claims will have extra safeguards.
Meanwhile, reforms to speed up infrastructure projects were announced under the Infrastructure Bill, which will make it easier for the Government to sell off unused public land for development, enable the construction of new garden cities and give small house-builders more support.
Other proposals included new freedoms for the Highways Agency and allowing fracking firms to run shale gas pipelines on private land without getting prior permission, help for pub landlords, including a statutory code, a charge of 5p per plastic bag in England from October next year and giving voters the power to trigger by-elections where MPs have committed serious wrong-doing.