Queen's speech: Bill briefing

A summary of each of the Bills announced in the 2008 Queen's speech, supplied by Dods Monitoring.

Banking Bill

The prime minister has confirmed to MPs that the government is to put the banking code on a statutory footing.

The announcement came shortly after the Queen’s speech, and the Financial Services Authority is currently consulting on proposals for a new framework to regulate the way that banks treat their customers.

Gordon Brown also announced that mortgage holders would be able to defer a proportion of their mortgage payments. He said the government would underwrite mortgage payments for up to two years for people facing repossession, with the eight leading UK lenders having committed to this proposal. There would also be free debt advice in every court.

In an unusual parliamentary timetabling move, the new measures will apparently be introduced to the House of Commons as amendments to the carried-over Banking Bill whilst a Banking (No.2) Bill will be introduced in the House of Lords.

This route is being used due to the impending expiry of the Banking (Special Provisions) Act.  A cross-party decision has been made to introduce the Banking (No.2) Bill in the Lords in order to give peers time to fully scrutinise it. This Bill will be a replica of the Bill currently before the Commons.

Once the current Banking Bill has been passed by the Commons, the Banking (No.2) Bill will be dropped in the Lords. It is expected that by this stage the Banking (No.2) Bill will have only completed the first and second reading in the Lords and therefore no amendments would have been made to the Bill.

The legislation will strengthen the framework for protecting bank depositors and enhance financial stability through measures to reduce the likelihood of banks getting into difficulties.

The reforms of the banking system originate from the Treasury’s consultations on financial stability and depositor protection and recommendations made by the House of Commons Treasury Committee’s report on banking reform.

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill

Measures allowing citizens greater influence over local decision making, making public services more transparent and accountable, will be brought forward as part of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill.

The Bill is the keystone of a wider programme to put people at the heart of decisions affecting their lives at a local level. It will ensure that those who understand these issues best will be able to take decisions affecting the local economy.

A more level playing field for small, local construction business in construction contracts will also be ensured as part of the Bill.

The legislation underpins the policies announced in the recent white paper “Communities in control: real people, real power” and takes forward the proposals set out in the government review of Sub-National Economic Development and Regeneration (SNR).

To ensure the views of tenants are taken into account on housing issues, the Bill will establish a National Tenant Voice. A proposal for which was included in a Communities and Local Government consultation in June 2007 “Tenant empowerment”.

The Audit Commission and the Auditor General for Wales will also be given new powers to appoint auditors to report public interest.

The Bill will make the Boundary Committee for England an independent body from the Electoral Commission.

Welfare Reform Bill

The government has committed to introducing greater incentives for people to move from benefits into work.

The Welfare Reform Bill will also provide more employment choices for people with disabilities.

The Bill aims to better enable people to undertake training to help find employment and to strengthen the benefit contract between the individual and society.

Among its welfare proposals, the government intends to strengthen requirements of non-resident parents to contribute to their children’s upbringing and to modernise and simplify the benefits system.

Coroners and Justice Bill

Avoiding future abuses of the death certification process is the driving force behind the Coroners and Death Certification Bill.

The Bill aims to “ensure that victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system” and proposes a more consistent and transparent sentencing framework.
 
The Bill also creates an improved system of death investigation to ensure that the cause of death has been properly established and communicated to relatives.

Other areas included in the Bill deal with vulnerable witnesses, assisting suicide (especially as it applies to the internet), stopping criminals profiting from their crimes and stronger inspection powers for the Information Commissioner to improve public confidence in how their data is held.

Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill

Refugee and human rights groups have raised concerns over the government’s Citizenship, Immigration and Borders Bill.

Liberty has expressed its concerns over the “political tone” of the proposals.

The civil liberties organisation, in its submission to the committee examining the Bill, criticised the draft legislation for implying that migrants are “less deserving or less trustworthy group than those born into British citizenship”.

It also raised concerns about over the “unnecessarily complex framework” of the proposals.

The Bill will replace all existing immigration legislation and aims to simplify the management of migration, border control, and the path to UK citizenship.

Equality Bill

Positive discrimination in favour of female and ethnic minority candidates will be allowed under the provisions of the Equality Bill.

The Equality Bill was first announced in the Draft Legislative Programme, to tackle disadvantage and discrimination based on race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

The legislation will consolidate nine existing equality laws into one.

Child Poverty Bill

The government announced its intention to enshrine into law its pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

The Queen’s Speech announced the government’s aim to end child poverty within a generation, by tackling the causes and the consequences of poverty.

Labour claimed that the fact that some children living in this country still lacked basic living standards was “unacceptable”.

They stated that ending child poverty was the responsibility of all, and one of the biggest challenges facing the country.

Labour has already taken some steps to reverse poverty levels, with 600,000 children lifted out of relative income poverty since 1998-99.

But the Child Poverty Bill intends to create a “new impetus” to deliver the government’s commitment.

The legislation is intended to work across all government departments to find a long term solution to child poverty.

Health Bill

Plans to increase patient involvement in their own healthcare form the main thrust of the National Health Service Reform Bill.

The Bill legislates for the proposals put forward by Lord Darzi’s ‘Next Stage Review’ of the NHS in England.

The Bill would establish a draft NHS constitution, to encourage greater patient involvement in shaping the care they receive. The constitution also establishes the rights and responsibilities of patients and staff, and enables primary care trusts to become more responsive to the needs of their local communities.

The Bill is intended to reinforce the core functions and principles of the NHS, and establishes measures to help the NHS promote wellbeing and prevent ill health.

Children, Skills and Learning Bill

The Children, Skills and Learning Bill has been launched to expand apprenticeships for young people, tackle standards in schools, and streamline accountability of the education system.

The Bill will give greater powers for the government to intervene in failing schools coupled with powers to ensure local authorities intervene early to address underperforming schools.

The Children, Learning and Skills Bill will also provide an apprenticeship place for a “suitably qualified” young person from 2013. This combines the draft Education and Skills Bill with the draft Apprenticeships Bill launched earlier in the year.

The Bill will also put Sure Start Children’s Centres on a statutory footing.

The creation of a new non-departmental public body to provide “light-touch” support on pre-19 education and skills (Young People’s Learning Agency) is also planned in the Bill.

Marine and Coastal Access Bill

Legislation to simplify coastline management was unveiled as part of the Queen’s speech.

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill is designed to improve the way Britain manages its coastal, offshore and wildlife interests.

The Bill proposes to open up the coastline to more leisure activities and to protect the surrounding marine environment. It includes proposals for a coastal path across the entire British shoreline to encourage public interest in protection and biodiversity.

The legislation was branded as “groundbreaking” by government, stating that no other country has attempted such a “complex, strategic approach” to marine environment.

By improving coastal access to the public, people will be granted the right to walk around the English coast for the first time.

The Bill also intends to establish a Marine Management Organisation (MMO), to become the UK’s centre for marine conservation and policy.

Policing and Crime Bill

The Local Government Association has criticised the government’s plans to introduce elections for some members of local police authorities as “complete nonsense”.

Commenting on proposals contained in the draft Police and Crime Reduction Bill, the chair of the Local Government Association’s safer communities board, councillor Hazel Harding said that the proposals would not only be a “waste of taxpayers’ money” but would also make local policing “far more difficult.”.

The Bill, conceived in the policing green paper in July, aims to bring more local accountability to police forces, as well as reduce bureaucracy within the service.

But the government also faces opposition from Labour councillors who fear that a likely low voter turnout at such elections. They also fear that local concerns over crime could lead to the BNP gaining positions of power over in police authorities.

The Association of Police Authorities (APA) has raised concerns that re-introducing party politics to policing would ruin the “balanced composition” of police authorities.

Savings Gateway Bill

A savings gateway accounts scheme will be introduced, following its inclusion in the Queen’s Speech.

First announced in the Budget 2008, the Bill aims to kick-start a saving habit among working-age people on lower incomes, by providing a strong incentive to save through a government contribution.

A saving gateway would also promote financial inclusion, by encouraging people to engage with financial institutions such as banks, building societies and credit unions.

The scheme was first proposed in the Pre-Budget report 2001.

Since then it has been successfully piloted twice, first in 2005 and second in 2007.

The Bill will permit financial institutions to offer saving gateway accounts and will set out the guidelines for the scheme.

Business Rate Supplements Bill

Local authorities are to gain the power to levy a local supplement to the business rate and retain the proceeds for economic development under the provisions of the Business Rate Supplements Bill.

The legislation, not mentioned in the Queen’s speech, follows public debate on reform to business rates in England and the conclusions of the Lyons inquiry into local government.  In 2007 ministers published the business rates supplement white paper and the review of sub-national economic development and regeneration alongside the comprehensive spending review.

The provisions of the Bill would enable local authorities that wish to levy the first supplements to do so by April 2010.

Authorities will be able to set a supplement on the current national business rate of up to 2p per pound of rateable value. The Bill makes provision to exempt business properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or less.