The Home Office is set to be the big winner today as it receives parliamentary time for a range of bills in the run-up to the general election.

David Blunkett's department will get the lion's share of legislation in the Queen's Speech in a bid to ensure the Labour Party is not outflanked on law and order during the election campaign.

Tough new measures on drugs, anti-social behaviour and religious hatred are expected to be introduced alongside bills paving the way for new correctional services and organised crime agencies.

On top of these the home secretary is set to get the chance to pilot his Charities Bill through parliament, which defines the work of the voluntary sector and sets public interest tests for organisations to qualify for charitable status.

But the flagship bill for Blunkett is set to be one establishing a legal footing for identity cards to combat crime, terrorism and immigration abuses.

Despite scepticism about the effectiveness of the scheme on all sides of the Commons, Blunkett is keen to push on with his pet project.

He wants to introduce voluntary ID cards alongside new biometric passports from 2007 with a view to them becoming compulsory, which will require separate legislation, between 2010 and 2012.

And he hopes the policy will challenge the Tories to back him or appear to be soft on crime if time begins to run short for the bill because of the election.

Drugs

As part of a renewed crackdown on anti-social behaviour - a key theme of Labour's second term in power - compulsory drug testing will be introduced for minor offences.

A new bill will make it possible to be prosecuted for the possession of illegal substances based on blood tests alone, while councils will get the power to evict tenants who are found to be using drugs in local authority properties.

The widely expected Safer Neighbourhoods Bill is a joint collaboration between the Home Office, environment department and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and is set to be another centrepiece of the speech.

It will give town halls new powers to tackle graffiti, abandoned cars, and fly posters and devolve decisions on using fixed penalty notices for environmental offences to a local level.

A new offence of incitement to religious hatred is set to be created in another bill, in response to fears since the September 11 terrorist attacks that Islamophobia is on the rise.

However draft bills which had been expected on preventing terrorism and allowing the use of wiretap evidence to be used in court have been delayed to a Labour third term due to legal complications.

Agencies

In two big structural changes the new FBI-style Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will be put on a legal footing.

Both a Serious Organised Crime Bill and a Correctional Services Bill are set to feature in the speech as Blunkett seeks to make both the prosecution and punishment of crime more effective.

The SOCA will bring together more than 5,00 staff from the Criminal Intelligence Service, National Crime Squad, parts of the Immigration Service and Customs and Excise in a bid to coordinate efforts against offences such as smuggling, people trafficking and fraud.

The legislation could also create a new offence of "belonging to an organised crime group" and set up a new system of plea bargaining.

At the other end of the criminal justice system the NOMS will be established in a merger of the prison and probation services that will join up custodial and rehabilitation policies.

Like the SOCA it has already begun its operations in shadow form and had its senior staff appointed.

Ministers want to use more community-based punishments for minor offences and put out more contracts to the private sector.

However they are facing resistance from the probation service unions who fear "contestability" is a code word for privatisation.

Theme

With the glut of Home Office bills the government hopes to set the scene for an election campaign based on security issues.

In the face of threats from international terrorism and low level "yobbishness" ministers want to address the public's fears.

By appearing to be "tough" Labour also expects to see off Tory charges that crime is "out of control".

However the Crime and Society Foundation said that by pandering to insecurities the debate was failing to address the real reasons behind lawlessness.

"The law and order roadshow of crackdowns, tough action and punishment has become a displacement activity, preventing us from thinking seriously about why members of the public might be fearful," director Richard Garside said.

"There are many good reasons why members of the public might feel insecure. The poverty gap has grown not reduced under New Labour. Household debt is high and confidence in the pensions industry is low.

"Decent housing is increasingly the preserve of the better off. Decades of underinvestment in poorer neighbourhoods has led to social and economic decay. Services such as health, education and transport appear more and more hedged around with caveats and conditions.

"If the government wishes to tackle the public's insecurities it should focus on these questions of social justice rather than talking up the need for ever more criminal justice. Draconian anti-social behaviour laws or tough action on drug addicts are part of the problem not part of the solution."