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“A One Nation Queen’s Speech from a One Nation Government” was how ministers chose to bill their assembled legislative proposals for the 2016-17 Parliamentary year.

While the roots of the One Nation slogan run deep, and its contemporary usage has been consistent since coming to sole power, one could be forgiven for interpreting it as more of an ambition than a statement of reality.

For, in an era of devolution, amid the furious scrapping of the EU Referendum campaign, it is difficult to discern one Conservative Party, let alone one nation.

And there were signs of this in some of the most prominent Bills contained within today’s rundown, such as the Education for All Bill, which was subject to a particularly public climbdown after implacable resistance grew among party grassroots in response to proposals to convert all schools to academies.

The blunted version of the Bill today presented by the monarch was defiant in language, insisting on the aim of ultimately overseeing complete conversion, but it contained within it an implicit compromise typical of the tensions that have haunted the first year of this majority Conservative Government.

Many of the Bills presented are relatively uncontroversial in substance, implementing technical or sector-specific commitments in areas such as broadband infrastructure, transport and justice.

That said, there is a definite scent of ideological commitment about the Higher Education and Research Bill, which sets its sights on a relatively radical disruption of the university market through the institution of an expanded private sector presence – a contentious initiative commenced but never fully realised under Margaret Thatcher.

While the Government has sought to couch its changes in the language of job creation and student empowerment, this – and accompanying reforms to HE teaching quality inspection – are likely to get feathers flying in the sector as institutions confront some of the less palatable aspects of increased market competition and consumer accountability.

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While measures like these indicate a staunch Conservative commitment to market supremacy, there are equally some signs of a more complicated and calculated outlook. From the overt claim to “progressive” status contained in the preamble to the announcements to the implementation of a previously-announced levy on sugary drinks, there are signs of a party looking to consolidate its centrist appeal and show its socially responsible credentials.

But these are equally balanced with rhetorically-inflected pieces of right wing populist appeal, such as the unmistakably Brexit-tinged NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Bill, which is designed to reduce eligibility to free NHS care and recover costs from migrants using the health service.

There was a continued appeal to the promises of the Conservative Party manifesto as a means to justify some of the proposals, such as the curiously specific Better Markets Bill, an intended law which, notwithstanding its generalist title, is designed to implement specific promises surrounding the CMA inquiry into the consumer energy market.

And the Government also chose to press on with its highly contentious “British Bill of Rights” proposals, despite an extended period of quiet on this front, which had led some spectators to speculate concerning their demise.

Another uneasy all-quiet made an understated appearance in the speech, in the form of threatened changes to the relationship between the two Houses. It would, perhaps, have seemed a little ungracious to spell it out baldly on the day when the symbolic role of the two Houses is so starkly commemorated in ritual, but the speech contained elliptical reference to implementation of the Strathclyde Review.

As various sources had predicted, the Government, borrowing the voice of the Queen, announced that it intended to “uphold the sovereignty of Parliament and the primacy of the House of Commons”. While this was arguably the most subtle and unclear of the day’s announcements, supporting papers confirmed it as a reference to implementation of the Strathclyde Review – a major potential source of controversy and even rebellion if brought forward in future months.

Future tensions aside, the premeditated drama of the speech itself unfolded much as to be expected, though journalists were inevitably distracted by the awkward and last-year-unthinkable spectacle of David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn processing side by side through Parliament, the latter seemingly unenthusiastic about engaging in small talk.

Curiously silent the previous year, renegade Labour backbencher Dennis Skinner opted to raise an issue of topical significance as he followed Black Rod’s presentation with a shout of: “Hands off the BBC!”

As the Government moves decisively to renew the Corporation’s Charter, this was an unsurprising option for the MP, who has established a modern tradition of simultaneously disrupting the ceremonial pomp and voicing his discontent at ministers’ policy programme.

Thus, the 2016-17 Parliamentary year was heralded, with a panoply of proposals sure to keep tongues wagging as the Government takes on fresh sectors and seeks to subdue its opponents both beyond the party lines and within.

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Responding to the Queen's Speech, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Opposition would judge the Government's legislative programme over whether it would deliver a fairer society and help more people to get on.

“Cuts have consequences”, Mr Corbyn warned, citing the impact of those on the homeless, young people and those in care.

He declared that austerity was a “political choice”, insisting that the burden of spending cuts had fallen on women.

The Government was failing to deliver an economy that facilitated the needs and aspiration of voters, the Labour Leader said.

He derided the “Northern Powerhouse” agenda, noting that there had been systematic underinvestment in the North.

Mr Corbyn said that only one per cent of the infrastructure pipeline under construction was in the North East.

Housebuilding had fallen to its lowest level since 1920s, the Labour Leader said.

Mr Corbyn said that £450,000 was far too expensive for a new home.

Discussing the Digital Economy Bill, he argued that the suggestion of investment in this area could suggest that the Government now recognised that borrowing for capital spending was indeed good economic policy.

He added that the Government was failing to deliver on its proposals.

Further, he noted the reversal of plans for forced academisation, and welcomed the change. There had been a number of reversals in Government policy in recent months, he stated, before adding that there was a black hole in the nation’s finances.

Mr Corbyn raised serious concerns about decision to change the measurement of child poverty, and cited statistics indicating increased deprivation in the country.

He pointed to the 1 million people using food banks, and the fact that absolute child poverty had increased, as well as homelessness, which had increased every year since Mr Cameron had taken office. He said that the causes of this were benefit cuts, the bedroom tax, and reforms to housing. “You don’t tackle poverty by moving the goalposts”, he underlined.

In reference to the Higher Education and Research Bill, Mr Corbyn said that Government proposals to sink young people further into debt would be rejected.

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He also rejected the proposal to repeal the ECHR, under the Bill of Rights, and promised to defend the human rights of every citizen. He criticised Home Secretary Theresa May for proposing this. He said that what was holding back human rights was not the EU, but the Conservative Government.

Moving on to reaffirm his party's commitment to introducing an elected House of Lords, the Labour Leader said he would resist the Strathclyde Review.

Mr Corbyn called for legislation to deal with the NHS deficit and challenged ministers to lay a move to cut nurses bursaries before the Commons in a vote.

Labour supported a sugar tax and welcomed the U-turn on academisation, he said.

The Opposition would scrutinise the Education for All Bill closely, he said.

He raised concerns about the amount spent on supply teachers every year and noted that his party had opposed plans to introduce more unqualified teachers.

Schools budgets were seeing huge cuts, he said, and it was important to move away from “Agency Britain”.

He called for a formula that incorporated some of the measures introduced in Wales to help young people.

Continuing, Mr Corybn welcomed moves to speed up adoption, under the Children and Social Work Bill, however, the priority had to be on the welfare of children. He pointed to cuts, and queried whether the funding would be there to implement this.

Turning to the Higher Education and Research Bill proposal, he said that the Government was “penalising students” and that the Opposition would reject any further increases to university tuition fees. He criticised the Government’s actions as an attack on young people’s aspirations.

Mr Corbyn spoke of his support of apprenticeships, but only if they were high quality, and were inclusive and giving opportunities to all. He said that this could not be abused by employers, however.

Labour would scrutinise the Prisons and Courts Bill carefully, Mr Corbyn said. He welcomed reforms to cut sentences and reduce reoffending. The Labour Leader said that Scandinavian prison reforms would require more investment, but would be more effective.

He called for action to address the level of prison suicides, of which there was an average of two a week. "The tide of violent attacks in prisons are rising and has to be addressed", Mr Corbyn said.

Many more public services were under threat of privatisation, Mr Corbyn said, including the Land Registry. He called on the Government to consult and keep the Land Registry under public ownership.

Turning to the BBC, he stressed its value as an organisation and said that Labour would oppose attacks on the Corporation and its independence.

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The Labour Leader said his party had no objection to reviewing the franchise for overseas citizens and called on ministers to consider granting the vote to 16 year-olds.

Mr Corbyn said many of his party were encouraging young people to register to vote to prevent being disenfranchised by Individual Voter Registration.

He supported further security measures and called for the Prevent Strategy to be reformed to included community-based action.

Human rights should be at the heart of the UK's foreign policy, Mr Corbyn said.

Continuing, Mr Corbyn spoke of unequal funding allocation to local authorities. He said that the new proposal was an opportunity to equalise cuts across the country, rather than the current situation where some areas were being disproportionately affected.

He spoke of the closure of children’s centres in Oxfordshire, and of cuts to services for elderly and disabled people. He emphasised that cuts fell disproportionately on women in society.

Turning to business rates, he said that this could exacerbate inequality. He said that the Opposition would reject anything that narrowed opportunities.

“On a positive note”, he welcomed new devolved powers for bus transport, under the new Bus Services Bill, which he said would enhance mobility.

Continuing, he said that competition in the water industry “goes against the trend in the rest of Europe”. He called for “giving water back to communities”.

Mr Corbyn said that aggressive tax avoidance was an attack on the NHS, schools, elderly care services, leading to poverty and destitution.

He called for an “economy that works for everyone” and criticised the “driverless car heading in the wrong direction” that he argued the Government embodied.

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In his response, Prime Minister David Cameron said that the Queen’s Speech came at a time when the economy was recovering. He noted that among the proposals made by the Government was a Universal Service Obligation for broadband.

The Queen’s Speech would deliver opportunity for all, he said, and discussed steps to make adoption faster help care leavers. Discussing the broad range of proposals introduced by the Government, he particularly highlighted the changes to prisons, and said that this was a Queen’s Speech of a “progressive, one nation Government”.

He said the Modern Transport Bill would allow for the creation of the UK's first space sport.

Mr Cameron said his Government had kept its promise to hold an In-Out referendum on EU membership.

Mr Cameron said the BBC would have to reject the Labour frontbench as a Script for the TV series "the Thick Of It".

Answering an intervention from Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop over the Government had met with Tata Steel over the Port Talbot plant, the Prime Minister said he had met with two weeks ago.

The Prime Minister detailed the measures introduced, including in the Children and Social Work Bill, and said that the barriers to people’s life chances needed to be tackled.

This meant that help needed to be targeted to those who needed it most, he said, to which end changes had been introduced in the law around adoption.

Promoting adoption was important for stability in young people’s lives, he said, and training and professional standards for social workers were also being raised.

Young people were not given sufficient support when they left schools, he said, and the Care Leavers Covenant would ensure the Government took steps to tackle this.

Continuing, the Prime Minister emphasised how important education was. He referred to increases in number of school pupils studying the core subjects at GCSE and a new national funding formula as evidence of Government policy successes in this area. He spoke of “rigour in standards” and “no tolerance of failure”.

Mr Cameron defended the Government's Higher Education and Research Bill as being part of the changes to help facilitate record numbers of school leavers go to universities. The Prime Minister said the "bold reform" on tuition fees had allowed for better quality degrees to be introduced.

High-quality universities in the regions was a driver for growth, he said. Responding to an intervention from Conservative MP Christopher Pincher, Mr Cameron said the Government was committed to both academies and free schools.

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The Prime Minister said that the Digital Economy Bill would introduce measures to make Britain a leader in this area. The Government wanted to deliver a recovery rich in jobs, he said, and it was important to be ambitious for Britain to have the best paid and best trained workforce in Europe.

He added that the Government was supporting the development of the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine, noting the introduction of elected metro mayors and the devolution of business rates.

Continuing, the Prime Minister, in reference to the proposal for the Prison and Courts Reform Bill, spoke of failures in the system for young offenders. He said that he would apply lessons learned from other public services, such as publishing results and rewarding success.

Green MP Caroline Lucas queried the Government’s commitment to prison reform, in light of severe cuts.

In reply, the Prime Minister disputed the idea that the amount of money spent was a mark of success. He said the Government was doing more with less. He said many problems in prisons derived from widespread legal highs.

Continuing, he spoke of the out of date “Victorian” prison buildings which were no longer fit for purpose. He said that £1.3bn would be dedicated to replacing nine prisons.

The Prime Minister was then asked why suicide in prison had increased and if this was related to staff cuts. In reply, Mr Cameron said that legal highs contributed to this increased rate, and that it was crucial to have well run prisons which turned around people’s lives.

Life chances could not be extended without tackling extremism, Mr Cameron said. He hailed Britain as a multi-faith democracy, which was something extremists hated. It was not "illiberal" to point where hateful views contradicted liberal values, the Prime Minister, adding that these virtues were not the preserve of one party or another.

Responding to an intervention from Labour Home Affairs Committee Chair Keith Vaz over legislating for internet companies to take down web pages propagating, Mr Cameron said he was pleased over the work done so far.

The Prime Minister also addressed questions from Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron over the Extremism Bill. He pledged to listen to all concerns over the legislation, but insisted it was important tackle all sources of intolerance.

Mr Cameron said that it was important not to give in to the idea of recognising extremist voices in the Muslim community as it gave them legitimacy and drowned out more moderate voices.

He added that he would meet the Mayor of London to discuss this issue, and stressed that it was important to stand up for the liberal democratic values of the country.

However, he accepted that this would be a difficult debate. Nevertheless, he stressed that action was needed in this area.

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Going into unregulated education settings to check if extremism was being inculcated into young people was essential, he expounded.

Continuing, the Prime Minister spoke of investment in national security, reforming the police, and increases in defence spending. He said that disarming the UK would be an “act of weakness, not of wisdom”. However, he announced that a vote would take place on the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent - Trident.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech by pointing to increased investments in health and housing. “We are building a Greater Britain again”.

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“Legislation will be introduced to improve Britain’s competitiveness”

Aimed at boosting competitiveness, the Better Markets Bill is designed to facilitate switching and simplify economic regulation, with a special focus on the energy market.

Following on from the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review of competitiveness in the energy market, the Bill is designed to speed up the switching process and provide better protection when problems arise.

It will also simplify the functioning of economic regulators with boosted powers to “take on anti- competitive behaviour”, and, specifically, speed up CMA decisions.

Chief Ombudsman, Lewis Shand Smith, said: “Ombudsman Services welcomes the proposed legislation in the Queen’s Speech which is a small victory for consumers. The Digital Economy Bill and the Better Markets Bill have the potential to strengthen the protections for consumers in the energy and communications sectors. We look forward to working closely with government to ensure the best possible outcome for consumers.”

National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses Mike Cherry commented: “FSB will closely monitor the Better Markets Bill as an opportunity to boost competitiveness and drive growth.”

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The central message in the Government’s Better Markets Bill is the push for increasing competition in markets in a bid to “get a better deal” for consumers, which will primarily affect banks and utility providers.

The Bill draws on draft energy legislation published earlier this year which made significant reference to increasing the powers of Ofgem, as well as smart meters as a technological aid to stimulating switching behaviour. However the Bill omits any reference to smart meters, and the question of extending the powers of the Secretary of State to oversee their rollout.

Furthermore, the Bill also makes no mention of competitive tendering for onshore transmission, but it is anticipated that this will still be included within the provisions of the Bill.

In fact, the Bill appears on the whole very vague, in what appears to be a move from the Government to demonstrate its support for open markets and position itself as a champion for consumers. This approach will no doubt be applauded by consumer-advocates, and suggests a broader power shift to consumers, but there is uncertainty as to what the provisions of the final Bill will include.

Perhaps most significant however, is the Government’s plan to legislate its commitment to the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations on the energy market, and broaden its powers to act on anti-competitive behaviour. This is a move that will be welcomed by a number of stakeholders, but is as yet unclear how much it will deter utility providers.

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“Proposals will be brought forward for a British Bill of Rights”.

By reforming the UK human rights framework, the “British Bill of Rights” is designed to “continue protecting fundamental rights” by ensuring protections against abuse of the system and the misuse of human rights laws. This is part of the Government’s manifesto pledge.

The reforms would be designed to revise the current system, which is based on the Human Rights Act, and would occur following a consultation. The newly-enumerated rights would be based on those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, combined with the UK’s “common law tradition”.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn MP rejected the proposal to repeal the ECHR, under the Bill of Rights, and promised to defend the human rights of every citizen. He criticised Home Secretary Theresa May for proposing this. He said that what was holding back human rights was not the EU, but the Conservative Government.

Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party, Alok Sharma MP, says of the proposed Bill of Rights: “This Bill will support and reinforce Britain’s long-standing commitment to human rights and restore common sense to the way human rights law is applied. It will include measures to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework, and protections against abuse of the system and misuse of human rights laws”.

Chairman of the Bar, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC said: “The Bar Council will take a close interest in the Government’s proposals for a British Bill of Rights. This measure could have significant implications for our constitutional arrangements and fundamental rights. It is essential that any proposals for new legislation in this area do not derogate from the rights and freedoms we enjoy under existing law.”

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IPPR research fellow Mat Lawrence said: "Today’s Queen’s Speech contained a ritual within a ritual: the near annual promise to introduce a British Bill of Rights that almost certainly won’t come to pass…Yet beyond the politics, there are significant practical challenges facing any potential British Bill of Rights: how would it interact with devolution and the Good Friday Agreement? How would it relate to the Human Rights Act and European law, which would remain sovereign? What would the actual content of the rights to be enshrined, and how they would be enforced? Given these hurdles, at this rate it seems we will have a legal infrastructure for driverless cars before we find a resolution to the British Bill of Rights ritual."

Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, said: “The new Bill of Rights must uphold and protect the rights of children provided by the Human Rights Act. Anything that weakens or endangers those rights would recklessly turn the clock back and leave poor and vulnerable children more exposed to abuse and neglect. The rights of all children, no matter where they are from, or who their parents are, must continue to be protected.”

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International, said: “Hillsborough shows how vital the Human Rights Act is to ordinary people when all other avenues of justice fail. We mustn’t let politicians tear up those hard-won protections”.

Largely in response to opposition among some Conservatives to the European Convention on Human Rights, the long-mooted proposal to introduce a “British Bill of Rights” has made an official appearance in the Queen’s Speech.

The Bill of Rights will be subject to wide consultation. However, the Government’s overview reveals that the principles guiding such a piece of legislation would be “based on those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights”, implying that it will be a largely similar offering to pre-existing human rights provisions.

The debate surrounding the future of the UK as a signatory of the ECHR has dominated Eurosceptic arguments put forward in the ongoing EU Referendum debate, along with criticism of the European Court of Justice – despite the ECJ not being an EU institution.

A British Bill of Rights would be designed to replace ECHR membership, and has been publicly supported by the Home Secretary and Attorney General, but not some other ministers - a point of controversy which has been seized by opposition parties.

In formally announcing the intention to bring forward a Bill of Rights, backbench Eurosceptic Conservatives may initially be pacified, but the deliberations and external influences beyond the Commons chamber are quite likely to ensure that progress on the issue is slow, complex and mired in legal challenges.

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“In England, further powers will be devolved to directly elected mayors, including powers governing local bus services.”

The Bus Services Bill aims to give elected mayors and local transport authority’s powers to improve bus services.

The Bill will allow stronger partnerships between local government and bus operators. Local authorities will be able to use new powers to set standards of service with bus operators including branding, ticketing and they frequency of services.

It will create new franchising powers that are clearer and simpler to use.

Combined authorities with directly elected mayors will be given powers to franchisee bus services, while applications from other local authorities will be considered on a case by case basis.

It would also place a requirement on bus operators to make data about routes, fares and times open and accessible to allow app makers to develop new journey planners and other products.

Opposition response

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said he welcomed new devolved powers for bus transport, under the new Bus Services Bill, which he said would enhance mobility.

Labour transport tweeted: “#QueensSpeech seems to confirm that Buses Bill tendering powers will be restricted to areas with directly elected mayors.”

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Stakeholder Reaction

Cllr Peter Box, Transport spokesman at the Local Government Association, said: “Franchising should be available to all local authorities who wish to improve bus services in towns, villages and rural areas that are poorly served at present. It should not depend on having a directly-elected mayor. To protect cherished bus services, which remain under threat as councils continue to receive less money from government to provide all services over the next few years, the option to franchise needs to go hand in hand with the devolution of bus subsidies. Handing councils control over the Bus Service Operators' Grant – a fuel duty rebate paid directly to bus operators by the Government – would help them support vital routes and the roll-out of smart ticketing.

Stephen Joseph, Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Autonomous vehicles and space ports are all well and good, but most people would prefer to see their everyday transport sorted out first: the Bus Services Bill will be a step in the right direction. The Bill will give local authorities which have agreed devolution deals, and maybe others, more power to plan and manage local bus services. This should help authorities tempt people out of their cars into buses in our cities, but it must also ensure people living in isolated, rural areas are not forgotten and that they also benefit.”

Luke Raikes, research fellow at IPPR North, said: “This is an important piece of legislation, but MPs need to make sure that it truly enables transport authorities to do this in practise, not just in principle. It is also vital that rural areas, and areas without Mayors are also able to use these powers fully, and the expertise of all sectors can be built in to the network.”

Bill Freeman, Chief Executive of the Community Transport Association, tweeted “Buses Bill for England in #QueensSpeech - needs to go beyond combined authorities with elected mayors so all communities can benefit.”

Richard Koch, head of policy at The UK Cards Association, said: “The Bus Services Bill will bring new powers to areas with executive mayors to improve their bus services and it is important that those planning these improvements build on the development of contactless payments on the London transport network. There are more than a million journeys made every day in the capital using contactless cards, a clear sign passengers enjoy the convenience and speed contactless brings. We urge the Government to ensure contactless payments are an option available everywhere, so passengers have consistency and ease wherever they travel, rather than each area using a potentially different solution.”

Following on from last year’s mention of a Buses Bill in the 2015 Queen’s Speech supporting documents, the Government has announced its intention to introduce a Bus Services Bill.

New powers over bus franchising for combined authorities with directly elected mayors have been welcomed by supporters of bus franchising who have argued that the current system, operating outside of London, has led to a decline in bus patronage and increase in fares. Supporters of franchising point to the model of bus franchising

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in London and argue that bus franchising would allow local authorities to improve services, introduce integrated ticketing and reduce costs.

There has been criticism that powers over bus franchising will not be extended to all local authorities, though the Government has said that applications from all local authorities will be considered on a case by case basis. It is likely that Cornwall Council will be given bus franchising powers as the Government committed to doing so in the Cornwall devolution deal.

Critics of bus franchising, including bus operators, have argued that bus franchising will increase regulation of the industry. Bus operators have instead called for stronger partnerships local authorities and will likely be pleased that provisions for stronger partnerships will be included in the Bill.

There is currently a lack of detail about key parts of the Bill including whether combined authorities with directly elected mayors will need to meet certain criteria to be given bus franchising powers and how other local authorities can apply for these powers. Ministers will claim that they are fulfilling their commitments in devolution deals to give cities powers over bus franchising but sceptics will say it depends on how lengthy and complex any process to adopt these new powers is.

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“A Bill will be introduced to ensure that children can be adopted by new families without delay, improve the standard of social work and opportunities for young people in care in England”

This Bill has three primary objectives: to prevent delays in permanent adoptions of children and favour permanent adoption (presumably over temporary foster placements, for example); to improve standards in social work; and to alter local authorities’ responsibilities in order to provide support for children on leaving care.

The Bill will create standards for how local authorities should act as a “corporate parent” as children leaving care move into their adult life, which includes an extension of the right of children to a ‘Personal Advisor’ until they reach the age of 25. There will be a requirement for local authorities to consult on and publish a ‘local offer’ to care leavers which sets out the services they are entitled to, via a new “Care Leavers’ Covenant”.

The Bill will create a specialist social work regulator to enable a clear focus on standards, training and development. Other measures include giving frontline services more freedom to work together to safeguard children, and trialling innovative approaches to social care.

Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corybn welcomed moves to speed up adoption under the Children and Social Work Bill. However, he said that the priority had to be on the welfare of children. He pointed to government cuts, and queried whether the funding would be there to implement this.

Matthew Reid, Chief Executive of the Children’s Society, commented: “We know that the life chances and outcomes for care leavers are significantly worse than for those who have not grown up in care. The Government must address the problem of children in care being uprooted and moved miles away from their communities. It must also make sure care leavers get priority and consistent access to mental health support to tackle the significant disadvantages faced by those growing up in care.”

Javed Khan, Barnardo’s Chief Executive said: “This announcement on adoption should help ensure children are placed without delay. However, it's not a numbers game, and all types of permanent living arrangements, including foster care and special guardianship, must be stringently considered and supported”. He continued: “We are concerned Government is creating a two tier system, suggesting foster care is a less effective route when sometimes it is in the best interests of the child. Local authorities and lawyers must never shy away from tough decisions, but the best interests of vulnerable children must always be put first.”

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Kevin Williams, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, said: “While The Fostering Network welcomes the Prime Minister’s self-declared ‘unashamedly pro-adoption’ stance, and his subsequent backing of this stance in his Government’s legislative agenda as set out in the Queen’s Speech, we ask the Government to understand that adoption and foster care are not mutually exclusive. On behalf of the vast majority of children in care, who will spend their childhoods in loving, stable and secure foster families, we call on this Government to be unashamedly pro-foster care as well”. He continued: “The promise of the first Care Leavers Covenant for England is welcome news. Along with the Staying Put legislation, the Covenant will give hope to the thousands of young people who leave care each year”.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Giving care leavers better support as they move into adult life is a positive step. But children need help as soon as they are taken into care, especially after suffering abuse or neglect, as they will be four times more likely to have a mental health disorder. It’s imperative these children are properly assessed and given the right level of support otherwise, as our It’s Time campaign has shown, we will be creating a mental health time bomb in years to come.”

Responding to the Children and Social Work Bill announced in today’s Queen’s Speech, Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Councils are committed to improving children and young people’s experience of the care system. Many of the provisions outlined in this Bill have the potential to support the good work already taking place in local authorities across the country, and could make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

This Bill comes as a response to a recent decline in the numbers of children in care being permanently adopted; increases in the numbers of children being taken into care; and criticisms of how care is provided by the state. Various charitable groups and NGOs have pointed out that short-term care placements and repeated ‘uprooting’ does not always provide the long-term stability necessary for the wellbeing of vulnerable children.

The accompanying documents to the Queen’s speech specifically acknowledge that permanent adoption should only be used “where that is the right thing for the child”. However, this has not prevented stakeholders from expressing concern for the apparent prioritisation of permanent adoption over other forms of care for children. Both the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Fostering Network have pointed out that permanent adoption should not distract from the importance of other types of long- and short-term care for vulnerable children. As permanent adoption is only a solution for a small number of children in care, it is likely that further criticisms of the Government will focus on what might be left out of the Bill rather than merely what we know will be included so far.

As children in care are up to four times more likely to experience mental health problems than others in wider society, it may be seen that this Bill does not go far enough in addressing one of the most fundamental problems faced by care leavers. Without a clear approach to tackle deep-rooted child poverty as well as mental health issues, it is likely that this Bill will be criticised for not going far enough to address the major difficulties for care leavers, or provide protection from the continuation of austerity measures. Elements of this Bill are in keeping with the Government’s overall intention to “make work pay”, and its apparent wider ambitions to increase levels of youth employment and give young people the skills needed to meet the UK’s economic demands. The Government has placed a very vocal emphasis on the importance of

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apprenticeships in this parliament, appointing Nadhim Zahawi as the Prime Minister’s Advisor on this subject and implementing an Apprenticeship Levy for businesses.

The elements of this Bill that relate to older care leavers chime with other aspects of the efforts on youth employment. As 39 per cent of former care leavers between the ages of 19 to 21 were considered Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) in 2015, further support for care leavers into their adult lives through the Care Leavers’ Covenant will no doubt be welcomed.

Recent high-profile cases of serious child abuse and neglect, including deaths of children known to social services, have resulted in renewed criticism of child social workers and the profession more generally. This Bill may be in response to negative portrayals and a perception amongst some members of the public that higher standards are needed across the board, as well as a genuine attempt to raise standards within the profession.

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“Legislation will be introduced to prevent radicalisation, tackle extremism in all its forms, and promote community integration.”

Among the measures that this Bill would introduce is a new civil order regime to restrict extremist activity. This will be introduced following consultation.

It will also give the Government power to intervene in intensive unregulated education settings through stronger powers for the Disclosure and Barring Service.

There will also be a consultation on whether Government should have the power to intervene in instances where councils have failed to tackle extremism. Further, the official briefing states that the Government will consider the need for further legislative measures to promote integration following the Casey Review.

Further, the Bill will “close loopholes” and allow Ofcom to take action on internet-streamed television content from outside the EU on Freeview.

These measures will apply in England and Wales, and the position in Scotland has not yet been finalised.

Opposition response

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said he supported further security measures and called for the Prevent Strategy to be reformed to included community-based action.

Third Sector

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Quilliam Foundation Managing Director Haras Rafiq wrote an article for Newsweek in which he condemned the plans, arguing that:

“In essence, these measures target those who operate in what the police have called the ‘pre-criminal space’ and therefore expand the definition of people who could be incarcerated from those who do bad things to those who think bad things.

“This is problematic.

“It is philosophically against all the values that we hold in a liberal secular democracy. While radicalization and extremism have rightly been identified as troubling, bigotry cannot be banned. Instead, it should be subject to robust challenge.”

Having first been mooted following the introduction of the announcement of the Counter Extremism Strategy in October 2015, this Bill had been trailed long before the speech and was widely expected to contain measures along the lines that were announced.

However, it appears that some of the more controversial elements of the Bill with relation to broadcasting have been removed.

While Ofcom has gained additional powers, it appears that the Government is currently only planning to extend the powers the broadcaster already has to internet-streamed content from outside the EU.

It had previously been suggested in some news outlets, including the Daily Mail, that the regulator would be given the power to suspend broadcasts deemed to contain extremist material. When first proposed in May last year, it was reported in the Guardian that Ofcom would be given the power to act to prevent the broadcast of extremist messages before they were aired.

Among those opposed to such measures were former Culture Secretary and current Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who argued this would make the broadcaster into a “censor”.

Though Ofcom is receiving many new powers of late, including taking charge of the BBC’s governance, it appears that the Government has stepped away from a more radical change in the role of the regulator’s role in dealing with offensive or harmful material.

Nevertheless, the Government is likely to face challenges in extending its authority, including over its proposals that it will take powers from local councils who fail to adequately act to prevent extremism.

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“Following last week’s Anti-Corruption Summit in London, legislation will be introduced to tackle corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.”

This Bill would reform the law on proceeds of crime and allow the Government to recoup more criminal assets.

Among the measures it will introduce is a new criminal offence for corporations that fail to stop their staff facilitating tax evasion.

It will also reform the operation of the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regime, which operates under the UK Finance Unit in the National Crime Agency, in order to encourage better use of public and private sector resources and better coordination against the highest threats. The changes will allow the regime to target entities carrying out money laundering instead of individual transactions.

Further, the National Crime Agency will receive additional powers, and law enforcement agencies and courts will be made capable of recovering criminal assets more effectively, especially in cases like those linked to grand corruption..

Opposition response

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed action on tax evasion, he argued that the Government’s record was weak, noting that Conservative MEPs had opposed EU-wide action.

Further, he noted that the Government had not pushed crown dependencies to publish registers of beneficial ownership.

He added that aggressive tax avoidance was an attack on the NHS, schools, elderly care services, leading to poverty and destitution.

Law Society

The Law Society said:

“The Law Society supports a global approach to tackling the global problem of tax evasion, which is illegal. This includes action to promote transparency through the cross-border exchange of information and complementary procedures between jurisdictions. We will continue to engage with any similar measures the government proposes.”

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CIOT Tax Policy Director John Cullinane said:

“We are concerned about this proposal because we believe there is enough law in relation to corporations in this area already. As with individuals facilitating offshore evasion, it is very problematic to hold a company responsible for an individual’s actions.

“If the Government believes that criminal sanctions need to be strengthened in this area then the new offence must not only be phased in gradually to allow businesses time to familiarise themselves with the regime and implement appropriate procedures so that they can comply with it, but it must also be subject to a clear defence of reasonable care being available. The key to this whole issue is clearly drafted legislation, supported by guidance containing practical examples, so that companies understand the practical steps expected of them which will actually help combat tax evasion and money laundering – as well as enabling the compliant effectively to protest their innocence.

“There have been a lot of proposals for change in this area recently and the Government must be careful not to place unreasonable or unrealistic and expensive compliance burdens on business.”

The Bill puts in place many of the measures contained within the Action Plan for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Finance, which was developed following the National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

In the aftermath of the Panama Papers scandal there has been a rapid acceleration in the Government’s anti-tax evasion agenda, and this is yet another step in that direction.

Law firm Burges Salmon has said that the proposals laid out in the consultation paper on these measures models the offence on the corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery, which has reportedly proved highly effective.

However, the measures are unlikely to satisfy many people, with some in the industry arguing that these measures do not go far enough and the Opposition chastising the Government for taking insufficient action in this area.

A consultation is underway on these proposals which seeks to ensure that the “offence is both effective at meeting the stated objectives, and not unduly burdensome”. Trying to strike a delicate balance between these two will prove tricky for a Government already vulnerable to attacks over this increasingly divisive issue.

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The Bill will enable the UK to accede to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols, which would make the UK the first member of the UN Security Council to do so.

Among the measures to be introduced are new offences to protect cultural property in the event of armed conflict at home and abroad, including a ban on making such property the object of attack and dealing in cultural property illegally exported from occupied territory.

Further, the Bill would allow immunity from seizure for cultural property in the UK which is being transported for safekeeping during a conflict between states and introduce a new Blue Shield emblem to indicate property protected under the Convention. It would also make provisions for such property to be returned after the cessation of conflict.

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“Measures will be brought forward to create the right for every household to access high speed broadband… and make the United Kingdom a world leader in the digital economy”

The Digital Economy Bill is focused on infrastructure, public service delivery and support for new digital industries.

It will seek to implement the promised 10Mbps broadband “Universal Service Obligation”, including provisions for Ofcom to review the measure in future, and also includes an overhaul of broadband infrastructure planning rules. Additionally, it will reform the Electronic Communications Code governing mobile masts.

On the broadband consumer side, it will let Ofcom mandate data transparency on broadband speeds and coordinated switching processes, as well as giving customers the right to automatic compensation.

Online, the Bill will require consent for direct marketing to protect against spam, and require adult websites to ensure age verification.

For public services, it contains measures to enhance Government data use for research and statistics purposes, while maintaining privacy safeguards, and also aims to crack down on public sector fraud and improve debt support through information sharing.

The Bill will update copyright law to regularise online and offline rules, and help owners of designs give notice of their rights.

Opposition response

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had little to say on the specifics of the Digital Economy Bill in his response to the Queen’s Speech, but argued that investment in connectivity could suggest that the Government now recognised that borrowing for capital spending was indeed good economic policy.

Broadband

The Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) is “pleased that the Government has put the digital economy front and centre of its upcoming legislative programme.” ISPA Chair James Blessing welcomed Government action to “remove barriers to rollout” and offered ISPA’s “support” for “the principle of universal broadband”.

However, Mr Blessing argued that “there remain a number questions surrounding the USO that still need to be addressed, including funding and the impact on the market” and “further information on consumer measures, including automatic compensation, including how this will fit with the existing consumer redress framework” was needed to ensure the effectiveness of the rollout.

The British Chambers of Commerce welcomed action on broadband. Acting Director General Dr Adam Marshall commented: “Businesses will see the merit in many of the bills announced in the Queen’s Speech, particularly the commitment to high-speed broadband for all households and business premises. If implemented in full and at pace, this could go some way to improving the poor digital connectivity that far too many firms face.” However, he caveated this by arguing that “on most of the issues where business is impatient for action, what’s needed are big decisions – not new legislation”, citing the need for action on skills gaps as a key example where “decisive action” was needed.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also supported measures included in the Digital Economy Bill to promote connectivity. Deputy Director General Josh Hardie said ““Prioritising the digital revolution, which is transforming the face of modern business, is a key step to propelling the UK’s productivity. Ensuring that broadband reaches all corners of the country will breed a new generation of companies in an increasingly competitive environment.” Mr Hardie also said that the industry body were “looking forward to hearing more on… the National Innovation Plan”.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) criticised the connectivity measures in the Bill, arguing that the Government “lacks ambition on broadband”. Simon Walker, Director General, said that “the commitment to enable all households to access broadband speeds of 10 megabits per second is not ambitious enough”, and called for the Government to “look further ahead than their basic universal service obligation” by targeting speeds of 10 gbps by 2030.

Manufacturers Organisation EEF described the infrastructure and connectivity commitments set out in the Digital Economy Bill as “vital”. Commenting on the Queen’s Speech, Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive of EEF, said: “As manufacturers seek to take advantage of the technologies that will drive a fourth industrial revolution it is critical that government acts to ensure that businesses have access to world class digital infrastructure. This Bill will lay the groundwork to ensure that businesses have access to more cost effective and more reliable and resilient digital infrastructure than at present. A specific universal service obligation for businesses is central to this ambition.”

The Broadband Stakeholder Group expressed scepticism that the USO is the best method for rolling out broadband. CEO Matthew Evans argued that whilst “The push to reduce costs to investment in this Bill will help deliver the near universal, high quality connectivity that is the foundation of a

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successful economy” however, “pursuing a USO as a magic bullet could result in less investment and hamper industries attempts to tackle this issue”.

Landowner’s group CLA welcomed “the confirmation that we will finally get the legal guarantee of internet connection for all premises in rural areas that we have campaigned to secure for so many years”.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have promised to “closely monitor” the Digital Economy Bill, arguing that it “must improve access to broadband for business premises, not just residential properties”

Think Tank Demos were “delighted to see a Digital Economy Bill, enshrining fast broadband as an essential and universal service”

Conservative MP George Freeman said: “Great to see autonomous vehicles, high speed broadband, Northern powerhouse all feature in opening sentences of today's #QueensSpeech”

Conservative MP Steve Double welcomed broadband’s inclusion in the speech, saying the issue was “vital to Cornwall”.

Electronic Communications Code

The British Property Federation have criticised the inclusion of the Electronic Communications Code (ECC) within the Bill, arguing that it will “provide landlords with less control over the use of their buildings” and “should have included an ability for landlords and operators to contract out of the Code, to encourage landlords to lease their roof space to telecoms providers and improve network coverage”. Chief Executive Melanie Leech argues that, as it stands, “the nature of its proposals means that landlords are going to remain unlikely to enter into contracts with telecoms providers” and will have an adverse effect on the Government’s broadband rollout plans.

The Open Rights Group welcomed proposals to promote fast broadband, arguing that “Slow Internet damages innovation and the use of new Internet services. It also encourages “Internet rationing” by ISPs, which is driving attempts to undermine net neutrality, and favour one service over another.”

Landowners’ group CLA were concerned about measures to enable compulsory purchase of land for mobile infrastructure, with President Ross Murray arguing that compulsory purchase should be a measure of last resort, and where it is used it should be scrupulously fair and with the interests of those that are having land taken off them preserved”.

Age Verification

The ISPA were cautious in their approach to the Government’s age verification measures. The organisation “notes” the plans and “will now work with Government and members on this challenging and technically complex area.”

The NSPCC commented on measures to require age verification for access to adult websites, arguing that “the proliferation of online pornography is giving some children a warped view of sexual relationships” and demanding that “Industry must do much more to ensure they cannot access this material by enforcing strict age verification rules.”

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Privacy campaigners Open Rights Group noted their concern that “While preventing children from seeing pornography is a worthy aim, age verification is fraught with difficulties” with respect to privacy and free expression. The Group promised to “urge caution and advocate avoiding blunt instruments such as website blocking."

The Government’s long-awaited – and long-promised – Digital Economy Bill was finally unveiled in today’s Queen’s Speech. In truth, there was little in the way of surprises, with key measures such as the Universal Service Obligation for broadband and age-verification for access to online pornography heavily promoted by the Government over the past six months and beyond. It could certainly be argued that the Bill is more a collation of pre-existing promises and consultation proposals than a radically new piece of legislation; representing confirmation of the Government’s existing digital agenda, rather than a new policy direction.

Nevertheless, businesses and stakeholders in the telecoms sector and beyond will welcome the Government setting the wheels in motion on a number of connectivity proposals which are central to their promise to promote “Gigabit Britain” as a world-leader in the global digital economy. The Universal Service Obligation for broadband has been widely welcomed, and despite agitation in the media over the past few weeks, initial reaction shows stakeholders seemingly unconcerned that connections will only be provided on request, rather than by default. Proposals to reform the Electronic Communications Code to facilitate the expansion of mobile infrastructure will also be welcomed by mobile network operators and businesses alike, with only limited murmurings of discontent from groups representing landowners. Following on from a period in which the desire to protect the landscape often won out over the need for new infrastructure, it seems that the Bill signals a final and decisive change of priority by the Conservatives as national sentiment shifts towards a desire for better connectivity.

The Government’s promise to treat broadband as a “fourth utility” alongside water, gas, and electricity also seems to extend to its determination to support consumers in their interactions with the companies who provide communications services. Proposals from the Digital Communications Review carried out by communications regulator Ofcom have found their way into the Bill, with consumers to receive the right to automatic compensation when their broadband drops, together with measures to facilitate switching between communications providers.

Protective regulation also extends to measures to require commercial providers of pornography to set up age- verification protocols for access to adult content. Striking a similar note to moves to bring broadband in line with other utilities – and attempts in the Investigatory Powers Bill to update existing legislation relating to monitoring of traditional telecommunications for the digital age – the Government hopes to make access to online pornography subject to similar regulations as adult materials in print and video form. Commercial providers of pornographic material, together with the advertisers and ancillary services who support them, are expected to be the targets of these reforms, rather than other platforms such as social media sites which may feature the sharing of pornographic material – and are already subject to other requirements to protect children online.

Another consistent thread in the Government’s digital programme has been the promotion of open data to improve transparency and efficiency in the provision of services. The Digital Economy Bill looks to continue building on this agenda by encouraging, facilitating and empowering departments to further share data across Government and beyond. Promises to use information to proactively target public sector fraud – and

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Government debtors – are likely to prick up the ears of privacy campaigners, but otherwise the trend for intelligent and proactive use of large Government datasets will be a simple and uncontroversial policy likely to be supported in all quarters as a low-cost, no-brainer solution to promoting better governance.

New measures then, for connectivity, consumers, and data sharing. Nothing radical or unexpected, but a clear commitment to the Government’s agenda to promote Britain as a global leader in the digital economy – and bring about the “fourth industrial revolution”.

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The Government will bring forward proposals to respond to the recommendations of the Law Commission’s report on Making land work: easements, covenants and profits á prendre (2011) to simplify the law around land ownership.

Click here for the Making land work: easements, covenants and profits á prendre (2011) report.

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“A Bill will be brought forward to lay foundations for educational excellence in all schools, giving every child the best start in life. There will also be a fairer balance between schools, through the national funding formula.”

The Bill is designed to enable further administrative and funding reforms for schools.

Based on a move towards “a system where all schools are academies”, the Bill would ensure academisation “in the worst performing local authorities” and areas where councils could “no longer viably support their remaining schools”.

The academisation process will be made “swifter and smoother”, as “great heads and others in the school system” take responsibility for school improvement.

It is designed to implement the Government’s new National Funding Formula for schools, aimed at improving fairness.

The Bill includes “fundamental reforms” to alternative provision for excluded pupils, whereby schools will become responsible for finding an appropriate alternative provider, and accountable for these students’ education.

It also contains measures to reform technical education alongside the upcoming Skills Plan.

Opposition Response

Responding to the Queen’s Speech, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn noted the reversal of plans for forced academisation, and welcomed the change. The Opposition would scrutinise the Education for All Bill closely, he said.

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He raised concerns about the amount spent on supply teachers every year and noted that his party had opposed plans to introduce more unqualified teachers.

Stakeholder Responses

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “… Having failed to gain support for the goal of forced academisation from parents, governors, teachers or head teachers, the Government proposes to take new powers to arrive at the same endpoint.

“Targeting schools in local authorities that the Secretary of State decides to call ‘unviable’ or ‘underperforming’ will fool no one. The scope for political partisanship is clear.

“Removing key roles from local authorities, in particular any involvement in school improvement, will not help to achieve a sustainably successful school system. This reckless plan to sever the link between local government, communities and their local schools puts at risk parental engagement in, and democratic scrutiny of, state schools. Unelected Regional Schools Commissioners, with a clear agenda for academisation, reinforces the democratic deficit.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “The Government has wisely backed away from compulsory academisation, but the plan to require many more schools to become academies requires more excellent multi academy trusts. Our research has shown that the quality of existing chains is variable with more chains underperforming the average of all schools than overperforming. If this policy is to support those schools with significant numbers of disadvantaged pupils, it is vital that schools should link up with multi academy chains that have demonstrated their ability significantly to improve school performance.

“As the government introduces national funding formula for schools, it is important that they preserve the pupil premium, properly recognise the high cost of teaching pupils living in disadvantaged areas and consider rewarding schools that make a real difference to the results of their poorest pupils.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While we are pleased to see a commitment to a fair funding formula, we have fundamental concerns with the government's plans for forced academisation. The government is still set to take powers to force good and outstanding schools to convert regardless of the professional judgement of school leaders. We will be engaging fully with the consultation on this issue to relay the concerns of members.

“Taken together, we continue to see a focus on structural reform at the expense of capacity building. A fair funding formula will not work without sufficient funding in the system as a whole. Schools cannot deliver educational excellence without talented staff recruited and retained.

“The reforms to alternative provision are of interest. We must ensure that our most vulnerable young people remain at the centre of our attention and we look forward to discussing the plans for this in more depth.”

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT said: “While schools are still bemused by the chaotic announcements which accompanied the White Paper, the Government adds to the confusion

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today by rehashing and recycling previous announcements and policies already in the process of being implemented.

“The new role for local authorities and the plan for academisation in local authorities deemed unviable or underperforming, continues the obsessive focus on structures rather than standards, despite the recent U-turn the Government was forced to make as a result of strong opposition from within its own ranks.

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “The LGA strongly believes that all schools should have the choice to stay with their council or convert to academy status, and remains opposed to any forced academisation. Hundreds of schools, often in disadvantaged areas, are being turned around thanks to the intervention of local councils, highlighting that they should be regarded as education improvement partners rather than as a barrier to change. Our recent analysis of the grades achieved by all schools under the more rigorous Ofsted inspection framework proved that 81 per cent of council-maintained schools are rated as ‘good' or ‘outstanding', compared to 73 per cent of academies and 79 per cent of free schools. Schools should not be forced down the academy route unless they make that decision themselves.”

Mary Bousted, General Secretary of the Association of Teachers’ and Lecturers (ATL) said: “Once again the Government is not acting in the best interests of children. Pushing ahead with its plans to make all schools into academies will cause more chaos for children and schools at a time when the Government should be focussing on the priorities – a school place for every child and a qualified teacher for every class.

“The Government needs to get a grip and sort out the teacher shortage crisis, school places crisis and the increase in child mental health issues all of which are more important than reorganising who runs schools.

Following the Government’s apparent U-turn on “forced academisation” earlier this month, it appears the compromise has been more political than policy-based. The fact that the Education for All Bill looks to create the initial steps to reaching a point “where all schools are academies” means the Government remains committed to the same outcome that the Education Excellence Everywhere White Paper set out.

It is notable that this bill was part of the Queen’s Speech agenda to “Increase life chances for the most disadvantaged”. However, opponents of academisation will continue to point to the lack of evidence that attending an academy rather than a local authority school can be beneficial for pupils, disadvantaged or not.

Continuing with their manifesto commitment on the new funding formula, the Government will see to rectify unfairness for rural schools with regards to calculations about funding per pupil. The popularity this will gain with backbench Conservative MPs in rural constituencies is particularly pertinent considering many of them have been concerned with how academisation will affect schools on their patch.

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“To ensure that more people have the opportunity to further their education, legislation will be introduced to support the establishment of new universities and to promote choice and competition across the higher education sector.”

Designed to “promote choice and competition” in higher education, this primarily English Bill will seek to support new “innovative and specialist” universities to be set up, while ensuring high- quality teaching in existing institutions.

The process of creating a new university will be quicker, but providers will face “tough and rigorous tests” of quality and financial sustainability.

Accompanied by a Teaching Excellence Framework, it is designed to incentivise high standards based on “quality, not simply quantity” of teaching, and improve transparency about courses.

Under the Bill, universities will be required to publish details of application, offer and progression rates broken down by ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic background.

It will also provide legal protection for the “dual support” system of research funding as part of a plan to create a “strategic and agile” research and innovation system across the nation.

Click here for the Government’s official briefing documents.

Opposition response

Gordon Marsden MP, Shadow Minister for Universities, Further Education and Skills, commenting following the publication of the Higher Education White Paper on Monday, said:

“We can be rightly proud of our world-leading universities and their reputation for excellence. It is therefore of great concern that the Tory Government is putting this hard-won reputation at risk by giving degree-awarding powers to new institutions from day one, including private providers with no previous track-record in education.

With over 60 per cent of students feeling their course is worse than expected, we welcome the focus on improving teaching standards. However, the timescales for introducing the Teaching Excellence

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Framework look very tight, and concerns remain that it will be used as a Trojan Horse to increase fees even further and unleash the full force of the market in Higher Education.

We welcome the focus on improving participation of disadvantaged groups in higher education. But if the Government were serious about this, they would never have replaced maintenance grants with loans which risks putting off students from poor backgrounds from achieving their potential.

It is astonishing that the White Paper completely misses the need to support adults to up-skill. This is a glaring omission. If we are to address the UKs skills emergency, we need to ensure everyone is able to access education and achieve their potential.”

There are no surprises in this Bill following the publication of the Higher Education White Paper on Monday. In the initial reactions to the wide-ranging proposals for the university sector, there has been support for measures that seek to help students, namely the new Office for Students, for proposals around access and social mobility, and for more transparency with regards to choice.

According to Jo Johnson, the Universities and Life Sciences Minister, the extra competition by enabling entrance for “high quality challenger institutions” will improve standards and life chances.

In terms of the implementation of some of these policies, however, fears have arisen over the possibility of new providers entering the system hastily and unprepared, while the implementation of a Teaching Excellence Framework could cause the Government headaches.

Moreover, there are concerns that the new system for ranking universities, enabling students to switch institutions and reverse fee rises for poorly performing establishments could put further pressure on universities and colleges.

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The Bill is designed to help businesses navigate intellectual property requirements and protect them against abuses of the law. It is designed to reduce the likelihood of litigation.

Following recommendations from the Law Commission, it will reform the law around unjustified threats of infringement proceedings to protect companies from the misuse of threats by those who would seek to damage their business interests.

Rights holders alleging infringement will be required to make more focused allegations, while professional legal advisers will be exempted from liability for making threats, so they can help to settle disputes.

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“Measures will be introduced to help the lowest-income families save, through a new Help to Save scheme, and to create a Lifetime ISA to help young people save for the long-term.

The Bill is designed to support saving among the young and those on low incomes, with a special emphasis on facilitating house purchases without detracting from retirement savings.

It will create a new Government “Help to Save” bonus for recipients of Working Tax Credits and Universal Credit who save up to £50 a month, letting them potentially gain £1,200 over four years.

Under the Lifetime ISA scheme, the Bill will provide a special tax-free top-up of 25 per cent on all savings up to £4,000. It also permits Lifetime ISA customers to access some of their savings to buy their first home or receive a lump sum after age 60.

Opposition response

Name of person, who had said this, commented:

Stakeholder Analysis

British Banker’s Association, commented: “The Lifetime Savings Bill will help those from low incomes build up their savings”

Iain McCluskey, tax director at PwC commented: 'Plans for the Government's new Lifetime ISA, announced in the Budget, were set out today in the Queen's Speech. Alongside 'help to save' schemes the Lifetime ISA is another new product to support saving for home ownership or retirement. Taxpayers will be wary, however, that this new approach appears to penalise savers who want to take money out for any reason other than retirement or buying a home. With rainy days that require us to dip into our savings being all too frequent, it remains to be seen whether savers are prepared to tie up their hard earned money in this way."

The Bill largely legislates for measures that have been announced in the Budget and by Prime Minister David Cameron.

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The announcement in March of a Help to Save scheme was criticised in some quarters, claiming it was the wrong way to encourage saving. Steve Webb, former Pensions Minster and now director of policy at Royal London, said in March that 'it is welcome that the Government is looking to encourage people to save, but it needs to be careful that people are not incentivised to make the wrong choice with their money. Money put into a pension often attracts a matching contribution from an employer plus a tax relief contribution from the Government and can entitle you to higher tax credits. While both short-term and long-term savings are important, low-paid workers with spare cash should think very carefully before assuming that the Help to Save scheme is the best deal for their money.”

Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, also added at the time that 'encouraging people to save is a good thing, however there is a risk Help to Save could substantially mis-prioritise people's finances. My worry with Help to Save – especially because of the long delay before people get the bonus – is that people may start to think that everyone should put aside money each month, when the truth is for many with expensive debts, especially payday loans, that's a bad idea.”

Plans for Lifetime ISAs, announced in the 2016 Budget, have been generally welcomed by MPs and the industry as a way to boost savings levels. There had been some concerns however that they could herald the introduction of a ''pension Isa by stealth'', and could mean future generations increasingly favour ISAs over pensions for retirement saving. Concerns have also been raised that the new Lifetime ISAs could discourage some younger people from saving into a workplace pension under automatic enrolment.

It was also recently revealed that the Lifetime ISA would not be included in the guidance given as part of Pensions Wise. This decision comes despite calls – including from Citizens Advice and Royal London – for the service to be expanded beyond its pensions remit and include general savings products.

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“Legislation will also allow local authorities to retain business rates, giving them more freedom to invest in local communities.”

The Government is introducing legislation to encourage local authorities to invest in their local areas.

Measures include allowing local authorities to retain 100 per cent of their business rates (an estimated £26 billion), as well as giving the power to combined authority mayors to levy a supplement on business rate bills to fund new infrastructure projects.

The Local Growth and Jobs Bill will apply only to England.

Click here for the Government’s official briefing documents.

The main elements of the Bill are:

Business Rates Retention system

 The Bill would put in place the framework for the delivery of the scheme, and legislate for the set of responsibilities that will be devolved to local authorities as a result of the reforms.

Local Tax Flexibilities

 The Bill would strengthen local areas the ability to reduce the business rates tax rate.

 The Bill would give the ability to combined authority mayors to levy a supplement on business rates bills to fund new infrastructure projects, provided they have the support of the business community through the Local Enterprise Partnership. This is similar to the decision of local businesses in London to make a contribution towards Crossrail 1.

Opposition response

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the Government’s plans for business rates could exacerbate inequality. He explained that the Opposition would reject anything that narrowed opportunities.

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Labour MP Ian Mearns, said: “Queens Speech proposal for Local Authorities to "retain" Business Rates will cost North East over £200M per year #NorthernPoorhouse”

Stakeholders

CCHQ, tweeted: “Local Growth & Jobs Bill will allow authorities to retain business rates so they can invest in local communities #QueensSpeech”

Centre for Cities, tweeted: “Local Growth Bill in #QueensSpeech all about retention of #businessrates (1/2) https://t.co/NySJiyw822”

Social Market Foundation, tweeted: “RT @emranmian: Heap of widely framed Bills: Better Markets, Local Growth & Jobs, Education for All, massive scope to in-fill with new policy after EU ref.”

The Local Government Information Unit, tweeted: “New powers for city mayors and business rates legislation announced more to follow #QueensSpeech”

Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “Given the focus on the European Union referendum in this political cycle, it’s particularly encouraging to see the Government’s clear commitment to locking in growth, creating jobs and boosting investment to create a more prosperous society.”

Dr Adam Marshall, Acting Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “Businesses will see the merit in many of the bills announced in the Queen’s Speech, particularly the commitment to high-speed broadband for all households and business premises. If implemented in full and at pace, this could go some way to improving the poor digital connectivity that far too many firms face.”

Cllr Claire Kober, Resources Portfolio Holder at the Local Government Association, said: ““The move towards local government as a whole keeping 100 per cent of its business rates income by 2020 is something we have been campaigning to achieve for the last decade. We are working alongside government to ensure the voice of local government is central to ensuring the new system works effectively and maximises the potential it offers to our local communities and businesses.

Mayor Jules Pipe, Chair of London Councils, said: “We have long been calling for councils to be able to retain the business rates they raise, and we’re pleased that this Bill paves the way to making this a reality. Fiscal devolution offers London – and areas across the country – a great opportunity to create a finance system that helps councils to achieve sustainable economic growth.”

In the last 18 months the Government has consulted many times on the best way to reform business rates. After a long consultation process, the Chancellor announced in his Budget 2016 that “In total, half of all British properties will see their business rates fall or be abolished altogether.”

He also stated that the Government would modernise the administration of business rates and claimed, by 2022, local authority business rate systems would be linked to HMRC digital tax accounts.

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Today the Government brings forward primary legislation to devolve further the powers that local government have over business rates by allowing local authorities to retain 100 per cent of their business rates. By folding business rates into the devolution agenda the Government is hoping to unlock funds that can be used to grow local economies.

The broad scope of the legislation suggests that the Government will be keen for businesses, local authorities and LEPs to take the lead in developing mechanisms that can be used to reinvest business rates in local economies.

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“My ministers will ensure the United Kingdom is at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles.”

The Government is seeking to put the UK at the forefront of transport innovations with the Modern Transport Bill.

They also to create new jobs and fuel economic growth across the country by encouraging private investment in range of areas. This be stimulating by legislating to enable the development of the UK’s first commercial spaceport and making the UK ready to pioneer driverless cars.

Motorists will be encouraged to adopt driverless vehicles by changes to ensure the appropriate insurance is available for autonomous vehicles.

The Bill will also contained new rules to facilitate the safe use of drones for businesses and households.

Finally, holidaymakers will receive greater protection for online bookings made to ATOL.

Click here for the Government’s official briefing documents.

Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: “The most exciting area of the Government’s agenda for us is the Modern Transport Bill, which continues the work on developing the UK’s first spaceport and encouraging job-creation in the industry. The Bill also contains

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encouragement for firms working on driverless cars, and the lays a framework for the commercial use of drones. Properly supervised, both are exciting growth areas for business.

James Dalton, ABI Director of General Insurance Policy, said: "Fully automated vehicles will be a safety revolution, set to reduce road accidents and make our roads safer. This is why insurers are 100% behind making driverless vehicles a reality on our roads. Insurers are already working on how to shape the right framework to keep insurance as simple and straightforward as possible for the future of driving."

Phil Harrold, automotive partner at PwC, said: "Ultimately, for autonomous consumer transport modes to succeed, it's vital that 'perfection' isn't set as the default benchmark during the highway test phases or on roll-out - we don't expect this of other drivers on the road - and that what is aimed for is a realistic and marked improvement on human fallibility levels."

Jim McAuslan, British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) General Secretary, said: “We are pleased that the Government is planning to bring forward drone legislation in a new bill. The number of recent near misses with passenger aircraft, and the huge growth in the number of drones in the UK certainly means this is a sensible thing to do, and we have been pushing for better regulation for some time.”

Simon Whalley, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Royal Aeronautical Society, on the future development of the UK’s first commercial spaceport said: The proposed Modern Transport Bill is a welcome renewed commitment by Government to this vital project and a unique opportunity to capture the benefits of the UK’s competitive advantage in satellite and space technology.”

Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport and Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “It is particularly encouraging that Government will make insurance available to users of driverless cars, and measures to encourage investment into electric vehicles, commercial space planes and drones is positive news for business and transport users. As outlined in our case study earlier this year, making all vehicles autonomous could prevent up to 95% of all traffic accidents. The widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles would also help bring billions to the economy and potentially save thousands of lives.”

Ian Stewart MP tweeted “Pleased to see plans for a Modern Transport Bill in today's #QueensSpeech it will help MK continue to lead the way on driverless technology.”

The Government claims that the Modern Transport Bill will “put Britain at the forefront of the modern transport revolution” and create new jobs and growth. It is an enabling piece of legislation intended to cut red tape, spark innovations and push the UK to leading role in emerging transport manufacturing sectors.

An express aim is reducing the £20bn annual cost of congestion to the UK economy. Coming alongside record investment in the railways and the first five-year Road Investment Strategy, ministers want to ensure vehicles keep up with improved infrastructure.

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Ministers have been fond of reminding us of the UK’s increasing car exports, 1.2m vehicles last year. As with the pilot for driverless lorries announced in the Budget, they want the country to be at the vanguard of new technology and changes. They hope potential investors will be drawn in by the measures, including the framework for the new space sport. The Spending Review settlement reductions in the Department for Transport’s revenue budget means there will be limited public money available for such schemes.

The Bill will contain also new rules to bring safe commercial and personal drone flight closer for households and businesses. Despite the recent reports of a supposed drone strike near Heathrow Airport likely being a plastic bag, ministers are still keen to ensure the regulatory framework is adapted to meet the new uses of such technology.

Another sign of a change to reflect consumer habits is the improved protection provided by updating the ATOL protection scheme to reflect that the existing legislation pre-dates internet holiday bookings.

Ministers will claim that the Modern Transport Bill will help shape the UK’s role in leading changes in the sector. Sceptics will say it is simply responding to a few changes. Without the much-needed private capital, many of these rule tweaks will simply amount to nothing.

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“National Citizen Service will be placed on a permanent statutory footing.”

This Bill would put the National Citizen Service on a permanent statutory footing and it expand “so more young people can mix with people of other backgrounds, and learn what it means to serve their community.”

It would include a new statutory framework to deliver the programme, which will benefit from a £1.2 billion cash injection. In addition, it would introduce a new duty on schools and local authorities to promote the scheme to all young people and their parents.

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board commented that the “National Citizen Service Bill makes a clear statement about the value of youth services, and underlines the Government's commitment to boosting the engagement of young people in positive activities.” He added that if “local authorities are to actively promote the NCS, it is essential that there is a reciprocal duty on providers to engage with local authorities, including a duty to share relevant data, to make sure that promotion is effectively targeted to meet local needs."

Earlier in the year the Cabinet Office committed to expanding the National Citizen Service (NCS) to grow to 360,000 places by 2021 and this Bill should help them achieve this. The Bill aims to give all 16 and 17 year olds the opportunity to take part in community activities and work, and has so far consistently failed to hit its targets.

The new duty on schools and local authorities to promote the scheme to all young people and their parents will put an extra strain on schools and local authorities during a time of spending cuts, but the LGA and the teachers union seem to appreciate the value of NCS.

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“To support the economic recovery, and to create jobs and more apprenticeships, legislation will be introduced to ensure Britain has the infrastructure that businesses need to grow.”

The purpose of the Bill is to support the Government’s ambition to deliver one million new homes and transform planning for major infrastructure projects.

The Bill will also enable the privatisation of Land Registry, conceived as facilitating the delivery of a modern, digital land registration service.

It will establish the independent National Infrastructure Commission on a statutory basis. The Commission is charged with providing the Government with independent advice by setting out a clear, strategic vision for future infrastructure.

The Bill aims to strengthen Neighbourhood Plans by making the local government duty to support groups more transparent, and will also improve the process for reviewing and updating plans. The Bill will also ensure pre-commencement planning conditions are only imposed by local planning authorities.

It seeks to make the Compulsory Purchase Order process clearer, fairer and faster. It will establish a clear, new statutory framework for agreeing compensation. It has also committed to ensure pre- commencement planning conditions are only imposed by local planning authorities where they are absolutely necessary.

Opposition response

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, raised concerns that housebuilding had fallen to its lowest level since the 1920s, and that only one per cent of the infrastructure pipeline under construction was in the North East.

John Healey, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, tweeted: “v disappointing nothing in Queen’s Speech to deal with soaring homelessness including 100k homeless children”.

Labour Housing tweeted: “re-announcement of new home pledge meaningless without fresh action + change of course. Still no long-term plan for housing #Queenspeech”.

Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill

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Stephen Wilkinson, Vice-President of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “we welcome the government’s continued commitment to housebuilding in England, although a greater recognition of the variety of factors affecting the rate of building new homes would give a clearer picture of all the challenges we face and need to get to grips with. Investing £100billion in key infrastructure projects is good news and crucially should be planned and coordinated in order to support economic growth and help ministers meet their housing ambitions.”

David Orr, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation said: “the new measures in the Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill could be a real catalyst for speeding up locally- driving housebuilding, particularly in rural areas.”

Neighbourhood Planning

Melanie Leech, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, commented: “we are very pleased to see this [neighbourhood plans] included within the Bill, as neighbourhood planning has proved an extremely effective tool for ensuring that development is brought about in a way that is supported by local communities and meet their needs. It is critical that this operates in tandem with the government’s pressing agenda to deliver new housing”.

Richard Hebditch, External Affairs Director at the National Trust, said: “it sounds like there could be some positive measures around neighbourhood planning in the new Bill, but overall we’re concerned that further reforms could create more confusion and uncertainty about what the rules are, and not solve the real problems with housing delivery.”

Toney Armstrong, Locality Chief Executive, said: “its encouraging to see the government recognising the importance of neighbourhood planning and we look forward to seeing more detail as it emerges through the drafting of the new Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill”…”We support greater transparency and clarity about what exactly this duty should include and we would welcome improvements to reviewing and updating plans to ensure the process is clearer and more streamlined.”

Planning Conditions

Cllr Peter Box, Planning spokesman at the Local Government Association, commented: “the planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding. Councils approve almost nine out of 10 planning applications and the number of homes being granted planning permission by local authorities during 2015 was 253,000, the highest level since 2007. We support the intention to improve the process for reviewing and updating neighbourhood plans but are clear that any additional requirements on councils should be fully funded.”

Compulsory Purchase Orders

Ross Murray, CLA President, expressed concern “that compulsory purchase should be a measure of last resort, and where it is used it should be scrupulously fair and with the interests of those that are having land taken off them preserved”.

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National Infrastructure Commission

Lord Adonis, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “I strongly welcome the government’s announcement that it will make the National Infrastructure Commission statutory and independent. This is a major advance for infrastructure planning in Britain and will give the commission the power it needs to do its work. The commission looks forward to engaging with MPs and Peers as the legislation advances to make this process as successful as possible.”

Sir John Armitt, Institute of Civil Engineers President and member of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “Setting the Commission on a statutory footing formalises and upholds its role and purpose, this is an important milestone.”

The Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to deliver on a number of the Government’s manifesto promises. The Bill will support the Government’s ambition to deliver one million new homes and the manifesto pledge to invest over £100bn in our infrastructure over this Parliament.

The privatisation of the Land Registry comes as no surprise since the Government launched a public consultation in March on moving Land Registry operations to the private sector. The intention to privatise the Land Registry was initially announced during the Autumn Statement 2015. A consultation process, is currently underway and closes on 26 May. The consultation sets out the Government’s view that privatisation would deliver a capital receipt for the Government. A number of organisations have expressed concerns about the risk and consequences of privatisation, with a petition to stop the privatisation of the Land Registry already gaining over 200,000 signatures.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) was set up by Government as an independent body on 5 October 2015. Its role, among other things, is to look at the UK’s future needs for nationally significant infrastructure projects over the next ten to 30 years. Although many have welcomed the move to set the NIC on a statutory basis, the Treasury still has yet to respond to its consultation on the structure and governance of the NIC. Questions still remain as to who will be on the commission and how it will operate once statutory.

Reforms to Compulsory Purchase and planning conditions were both announced by the Government in the 2016 budget. The Government published a consultation in March on compulsory purchase. The proposals include new legislative requirements to bring Compulsory Purchase Orders into operation and to provide clearer definitions of Compulsory Purchase terms in primary legislation. There has been a mixed reaction to Compulsory Purchase Order reform, with some arguing it should only be used as a last resort measure, whereas others have viewed reform as a positive step to efficiently bring forward major infrastructure projects.

There have been some concerns about reforms to planning conditions and their potential effects on the environment. Although the Government has pledged to use legislation to protect the Green Belt, there is no formal announcements of proposals to restrict the use of planning conditions in the case of concerns about wildlife, landscape and community impact.

There was some disappointment that there was no mention of homelessness in the Queen’s Speech.

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“The NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Bill will be brought forward to ensure that overseas visitors pay for the health treatment they receive at public expense.”

The Government is intending to recover the cost from migrants who use the NHS, by adding to existing rules on charging migrants and overseas visitors for treatment. This will ensure that only UK residents “will get free NHS care.” New, tighter residency rules will also be established in order to reduce the number of European visitors who would be entitled to free NHS care.

The bill seeks to “make new arrivals pay for diagnostic tests and scans, prescriptions, ambulance trips, NHS dental services, eye care and even emergency medical care, in a move the government hopes will save up to £500 million per year.” Hospitals were given permission to charge health tourists 25 per cent on top of the cost of every procedure under new rules introduces in 2015, with short-term visitors from outside Europe liable for fees of up to 150 per cent.

On the issue of whether it applies to the whole of the UK, the Government states that the bill “may require legislative consent motions.” Due to the pre-election period in the devolved administrations, Ministerial agreement on the extent of the legislation will not be in place until late May at the earliest.

Opposition response

Paul Nuttall MEP, UKIP Deputy Leader commented: "With the NHS Overseas Visitors Charging Bill there is belated recognition that UKIP have been right to highlight the costs of health tourism with the new measures that have been announced…The only way to ensure everyone gets the treatment they are entitled to is to introduce compulsory health insurance for anyone visiting Britain.”

Stakeholder response

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Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We are disappointed and frustrated that despite our concerns and persistent opposition, plans are being forced through to start charging overseas visitors for GP care. It would also be a very real public health risk to have people living with potentially contagious diseases, because they are deterred from seeking healthcare because of cost.”

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Nearly two thirds of adults and 30% of children in the UK are overweight or obese…Sugary drinks account for 29% of total sugar intake for teenagers alone and by lowering sugar intake through a levy on sugary drink companies we will go one step towards helping to stem the nation’s obesity crisis.”

Jonathan Isaby of the Taxpayers Alliance, commented: "For too long it's been far too easy for migrants come to the country and use NHS services without contributing through taxes. We have a national, not an international health service and at a time when savings have to be made, the government is absolutely right to introduce these charges for primary care to make sure taxpayers aren't left short-changed."

The inclusion of the NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Bill will not come as a huge surprise to healthcare providers and interested stakeholders, but it is nonetheless a major piece of legislation. This is of course all part of the Government’s renewed drive to crack down on so-called “health tourism” – an extra component of the overall attempt to reduce health service costs. The Immigration Health Surcharge was introduced last April, for migrants from outside Europe who apply to remain in the UK for more than six months. This has raised over £100 million so far according to the Government.

Previous attempts to charge had been solely limited to secondary care, such as elective operations, in addition to EU and non-EU visitors who have stayed in the UK for long periods. Some had expected ministers to include a charge for migrants using GP services, but decided against the idea. The primary reason for this was the fear that new arrivals would be deterred from seeking treatment if they fell ill. But there are many groups who believe that the changes go against the founding principles of the NHS – that care should always be delivered free at the point of need.

A senior government source told the Sunday Times: “The changes will mean overseas visitors who do not pay for NHS care through their taxes make a fair contribution to the NHS so that we can continue to invest in services for patients and deliver high-quality care.”

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In order to enhance consumer protection and improve choice and financial guidance, the Pensions Bill is designed to introduce strict new criteria and greater oversight by the Pensions Regulator.

Specifically, the Bill aims to bring in stricter criteria for Masters Trusts taking money from employers or members before they enter the market. The Pensions Regulator would be given powers to authorise and supervises these schemes.

A cap on early exit charges would be brought in under this Bill for trust-based occupational pension schemes. This policy would contribute to breaking down barriers currently faced by consumers.

The third major aspect of this Bill aims to restructure financial guidance. A new pensions guidance body would bring together the Pensions Advisory Service, Pension Wise, and services offered by the Money Advice Service. This aims to simplify guidance procedures and fill the gaps in the financial guidance market to improve consumer access to high quality debt and money guidance. This would operate UK wide.

Opposition response

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions), commented: “Many of the issues to be covered in Pensions Bill are those that @LabourDWP have been highlighting for some time hopefully action will follow. Better protections for pension savers in Master Trusts, capping early exit charges & merged guidance body are all welcome, need to see details”

Stakeholder reaction

Joanne Segars, Chief Executive, Pensions and Lifetime Savings, said: “For the millions of people saving through automatic enrolment we must make sure their money is working hard for them and is secure in strong and high quality schemes. For many savers who now want to make use of their hard-earned savings it seems pension freedoms bring as many questions as answers – and savers will be looking to schemes and providers for help. This Pensions Bill is an opportunity for the Government to secure the success of automatic enrolment and pension freedoms. As importantly, it should lay down a sure foundation for a long-term savings policy in the UK and establish a pension commission.”

Yvonne Braun, ABI Director of Policy, Long Term Savings and Protection commented: "We have been calling for some time for the ‘two speed’ system of pension regulation between insurers and trust-based schemes to be tackled. Trust-based schemes, including Master Trusts, do not currently have to comply with insurers' strict requirements, which means they can be set up far too easily. This causes unnecessary risks for savers, leaving them vulnerable to scams and dubious investments." DeHavilland Information Services Ltd 2016 www.dehavilland.co.uk 52

Lesley Titcomb Chief Executive at The Pensions Regulator (TPR) commented: “We welcome the announcement today of a new Pensions Bill which proposes to give us new powers to regulate master trust schemes. We have voiced concerns for some time about the need for stronger legislative standards for master trusts and have worked with government and other regulators to improve levels of protection for members. We have been calling for a significantly higher bar regarding authorisation and supervision, and we are pleased that today’s announcement proposes to give us the power to implement these safeguards. We look forward to working with government over the coming months to develop the strategic application of these proposed new powers to ensure master trusts are strong, durable and well placed to deliver good member outcomes.”

Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive Officer, EEF, commented: “Master Trusts often provide better outcomes for employees, giving them the opportunity to benefit from larger pension schemes which smaller employers often struggle to provide. Whilst members of these schemes need adequate protection, and the schemes themselves need adequate supervision, we must not lose sight of the fact that scale in pension provision is good for members. Master Trusts should also be encouraged for a class of employer unable to provide workplace pensions on any scale. Exit charges, in keeping with other charges also need to be realistic and proportionate, and not act as a barrier to members maximising their pension outcomes from their own pots. The merger of the current advisory services will be good news for scheme members, providing consistency with the benefits of combined resources.”

The announcement of a Pensions Bill legislates for many of the changes to the pensions market that have been called for since the Government’s announcements of the pensions freedoms in April 2015.

The most significant element of the Bill is widely considered to be the cap on early exit changes, which has been called for by pensions campaigners. With the aim of ensuring that consumers are able to access the full suite of pensions freedoms announced by the Government, the Bill legislates for the capping of early exit fees charged by trust-cased occupations pensions schemes, and is designed to create a system in which savers can access pensions freedoms without unreasonable barriers.

The Government published its response to the Pension Transfer and Early Exit Charges consultation in February, which found that were are a small but significant number of savers who had been effectively prevented from accessing the pension freedoms because of high exit charges or long transfer times.

The Bill also legislates, as expected, for the changes to the way financial guidance to consumers is delivered. Measures to merge the Pensions Advisory Service, Pension Wise and the pensions services offered by the Money Advice Service were announced in the 2016 Budget. It was also announced in the Budget that the Money Advice Service itself would be scrapped, to be replaced by a new money guidance body.

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“My government will legislate to reform prisons and courts to give individuals a second chance.

Prison Governors will be given unprecedented freedom and they will be able to ensure prisoners receive better education. Old and inefficient prisons will be closed and new institutions built where prisoners can be put more effectively to work.

Action will also be taken to ensure better mental health provision for individuals in the criminal justice system.”

The Prison and Courts Bill is intended to reform prisons to be places of rehabilitation, in what is billed by the Government as the biggest overhaul of the system since Victorian times. In addition courts and tribunals will be reformed to ensure the better delivery of justice through new technology and modernising practices.

Under its provisions, prison governors will receive new powers to allow them to take control of all aspects of prison management. They will be able to run prisons as they see fit, including establishing them as independent legal entities. It will create Reform Prisons and allow for a complete overhaul of education, health and training in prisons by allowing governors the power to enter into contacts and create new boards with external expertise.

New measures will be introduced to assess prisons’ current performance, long-term direction and progress, including the requirement for governors to produce statistics on prisoner education, reoffending and employment on release.

The Bill will deliver on the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to modernise the Courts and Tribunal Service, thereby reducing delay and frustration for the public.

The Government also published Dame Sally Coates’s Review into education in prisons today. Alongside new Teach First-style programmes in prison, this will recommend learning plans to track individuals’ progression, and allowing governors to fund more stretching education programmes.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said that Labour would scrutinise the Prisons and Courts Bill carefully. He welcomed reforms to cut sentences and reduce reoffending. The Labour Leader said that Scandinavian prison reforms would require more investment, but would be more effective.

Frances Cook, Chief Executive, Howard League for Penal Reform, stated that it was “hugely encouraging to see that prison reform was at the front and centre of today’s Queen’s Speech. There is no public service in such disarray as the prisons, and the rising number of assaults, deaths by

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suicide, and incidents of self-injury show that the need for change is urgent.” She felt that more autonomy for governors, improvements to education and a more sensible approach to release on temporary licence were all steps in the right direction, but proposals to tag people during the week and lock them up at weekends were not helpful.” Ms Cook added that “the success of these reforms will depend on whether the government introduces positive measures to tackle overcrowding by driving down prison numbers.”

Juliet Lyon, Director, Prison Reform Trust, commented that it was good that prison reform was at the top of the government’s agenda, as “for far too long prisons have been our most neglected, least visible public service.” She added that “more freedom for governors, long overdue access to modern IT, sensible plans for release on temporary license and constructive use of tagging to curtail liberty should all be part of a modern justice system. But reform will run into the sand unless government is prepared to tackle prison numbers and introduce major sentencing reform as part of its groundbreaking Prisons Bill."

Richard Garside, Director, The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies labelled the announcement of ‘reform prisons’ as a “tragic distraction from the big challenges of prison reform.” He also called the proposals to allow ‘reform prisons’ to be “competitive, risk-taking outfits, pursuing exciting business opportunities to make up for a shortfall in central government funding is profoundly wrongheaded.”

Javed Khan, Chief Executive, Barnardo’s, commented: "We want to see these reforms lead to some simple changes in prisons which will help children keep up their relationship with their mum or dad. Children should never be punished for their parent’s behaviour. As family visits help to reduce reoffending, it makes sense for that time to sit outside privileges earned for good behaviour, like having a TV. Prison Governors need to put children first at visiting time too, by making searches and visit halls welcoming and child-friendly. Strong family relations can also be really positive for a prisoner’s mental health and emotional well-being.”

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive, TaxPayers' Alliance, said the “TaxPayers' Alliance has long called for more powers to be given to those running prisons so that they can establish what kind of regime is required at their establishment to achieve the desired outcomes."

Responses to the publication of the Coates Review in education in prisons

Olivia Dorricott, Director for Leadership, Education and Training Foundation, was a member of the review and that said it “was an invaluable opportunity to hear from a huge range of people, to see some great teaching and learning, and determined leadership.” ETF welcomed the emphasis in the Review on building capacity, leadership and the development needed to deliver effective teaching.

Rod Clark, Chief Executive, Prisoners’ Education Trust applauded the proposals to reform education in prisons, adding that while “some of Dame Sally’s recommendations may appear bold, but with the cost of re-offending at around £13 billion a year, the real financial and social risk is failing to help prisoners rehabilitate through learning while in custody.”

Charlotte Bosworth, Director of Skills and Employment, OCR, said that while Dame Sally’s proposals seemed radical, the cost of re-offending meant that there was a real financial and social need to support the rehabilitation of offenders while they are in custody through targeted education

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provision that provides them with the knowledge and skills required to enter the employment market.”

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Learning and Work Institute, said they supported the new powers for Governors to directly commission education. He particularly welcomed the recommendations around “investment in prison digital infrastructure for learning. If learning is to be relevant and accessible, prisons should have the freedoms to use technology enhanced learning as a key tool in their education service”. He added that he was pleased to see the report take on board our recommendations calling for a core basic skills curriculum; better support for prisoners with learning difficulties and disabilities and on in-cell digital learning. Dame Sally’s recommendations might appear radical, but they reflect an urgent need for change. ”

“My Government will legislate to reform prisons and courts to give individuals a second chance.”

The Government’s Prison and Courts Bill forms the centrepiece of a Queen’s Speech intended to be about creating a legacy of social reform for Prime Minister David Cameron.

It was first announced earlier this year as part of a series of speeches designed to set out Mr Cameron’s priorities for his final years in Downing Street. The appointment of Michael Gove as Justice Secretary last year signalled his seriousness about the issue. Mr Gove is a close ally of Mr Cameron and has a reputation as a fearless reformer from his four years at the Department for Education.

Unlike his predecessor, Chris Grayling, Mr Gove has made efforts to enjoy a positive relationship with influential voices in the sector, such as the Howard League for Penal Reform. Mr Grayling still insists that the Bill is concurrent with his legacy at the Ministry of Justice, but it is clearly a result of fresh thinking.

Whereas other controversial ideas, such as academisation, have fallen victim to in-fighting inside the Conservative Party, prison reform has remained on the agenda. Ultimately, the personal relationship between the Prime Minister and the Justice Secretary will be the key to the success of the reforms. If their partnership can withstand being on opposite sides of the EU referendum debate, then there is hope the Government can press on with this radical agenda.

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The Bill simplifies the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme and make it easier to claim and allow more charities to claim, especially small and new charities. It will reduce the administrative burden and ensure fairness

In addition, there will be a consultation on measures to simplify and remove eligibility conditions and criteria in order to allow newer and smaller charities to benefit sooner and on measures concerning how charities connected with community buildings can benefit from the scheme.

There will also be a consultation covering the factual understanding and accessibility of the current scheme rules.

Sector response

CFG Head of Policy and Engagement Andrew O’Brien said:

“It is good to see that the government has listened to the sector and recognised the need to get on with reforming the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme.

“The devil will be in the detail, but the focus on making the scheme easier to claim and, more importantly, opening it up to new charities is particularly welcome.”

NCVO Head of Policy and Public Services Charlotte Ravenscroft, said:

“The small donations scheme is a great idea that’s been sadly hampered by restrictive eligibility rules. We want to see the scheme made far more accessible to small and medium-sized charities by reducing the requirement to have claimed gift aid in several preceding years and removing the ‘matching rule’ that unfairly limits the generosity of the scheme for some charities.”

NCVO Senior External Relations Officer Chris Walker said:

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“The bill also represents an opportunity to modernise the scheme to take into account the increasing use of small donations collections via contactless payments rather than small change.

Charities Aid Foundation Chief Executive John Low said:

“The inclusion of a Small Charitable Donations Bill could be good news for charities, particularly for smaller organisations which have often struggled to unlock the benefits of gift aid. This provides a real opportunity to simplify the scheme and make it fit for the 21st century.”

Many of the measures announced today have been previously called for by charity groups, and have thus received a warm welcome from the sector.

The changes come after charity umbrella groups including the Charity Finance Group and the NCVO called for an overhaul of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme in response to an HMRC consultation, as reported by Third Sector.

They called for all charities that were eligible for Gift Aid to be able to claim under the scheme and called for the matching requirement to be scrapped.

Many of the measures proposed today were called for by the Charity Tax Group, which called for efforts to raise awareness of the scheme, more accessible guidance and claiming processes and a relaxation of the Gift Aid history eligibility requirement, and a review of the rules around community buildings.

However, it also proposed the extension of the scheme to alternatives to cash donations, which the Government does not appear to have included in its proposals.

While the basic principles of the measures are likely to prove popular in the sector, many organisations will push for the Government to go further in its reforms.

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“Legislation will be introduced to establish a soft drinks industry levy to help tackle childhood obesity.”

The Government intends to introduce a soft drinks levy in the Finance Bill 2017, which will target producers and importers of soft drinks that contain added sugar. This levy is the first of a series of initiatives the Government intends to deploy as part of its Childhood Obesity Strategy, expected to be released later this year.

These changes will come into force from April 2018, and is designed to incentivise soft drinks companies to reformulate and reduce the amount of sugar in their marketed drinks. The tax will have two bands according to the amount of sugar contained. The Government will use the revenue from the levy to combat childhood obesity, particularly at school. The Primary School PE and Sport Premium will be doubled from £160 million per year to £320 million per year from September 2017 to “help schools support healthier, more active lifestyles.”

An additional £285 million will also be allocated to give 25% of secondary schools the opportunity to extend the school day in order to offer more opportunities to pupils. Breakfast clubs will also benefit from the levy revenue, with £10 million set aside to expand to 1,600 schools starting September 2017.

Opposition response

Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, welcomed the inclusion of the soft drinks industry levy in the Queen’s Speech, citing childhood obesity as a high priority.

Stakeholder response

The Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing spokeswoman, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, said: "Councils have long called for measures to be introduced to tackle sugar content in soft drinks,

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which can help the fight against child obesity. It's time for the soft drinks industry to step up and take its share of responsibility for the child obesity crisis we face."

Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said: It is baffling how the government seems to be devolving powers in some areas and yet are still hell-bent on pushing through the regressive sugar tax. There is no evidence anywhere in the world that such a tax has had even the slightest effect on obesity.”

Jonathan Isaby of the Taxpayer’s Alliance stated his disappointment at the levy announcement, saying, It is deeply concerning that the government is pushing ahead with this regressive charge in spite of the overwhelming body of evidence showing that it's doomed to failure…Slapping arbitrary taxes on a few products due to pressure from the taxpayer-funded health lobby will hit the poorest and fail to achieve the desired results."

Gareth Evans, Head of Corporate Affairs at Royal London, said: “While a tax on soft drinks may be a step in the right direction, consumers tell us that it is too little to make a difference in tackling childhood obesity. The Government urgently needs to publish its childhood obesity strategy. A piecemeal approach to such an important issue is not good for the nation’s health.”

Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive of the UK Health Forum said: The UK Health Forum strongly supports the introduction of the soft drinks industry levy. The amount of sugar contained in soft drinks is a major contributor to childhood obesity and dental disease and must be dramatically reduced.

The Queen’s Speech confirms what George Osborne previously announced in the Budget two months ago. It has resulted from a culmination of calls from many in the health sector, as well as celebrities such as Jamie Oliver, to push soft drinks companies to reformulate their products to combat obesity amongst young people. It had been widely reported that George Osborne was against the idea of introducing new taxation, but likely pressure from other parts of Whitehall, including the Prime Minister, seem to have made a difference.

The revenue generated from this tax is set to go into funding for sports and physical education within schools – a policy which is likely to be welcomed across the House of Commons. Ahead of the loyal address, there had been some rumours suggesting that the Government was to water down the proposals, but this has not materialised.

The allocation of two different bands based on the amount of sugar contained in products, can be called progressive but will also be billed as controversial. The Treasury has previously confirmed that the higher rate would currently affect the likes of Coca Cola, Red Bull and Irn Bru. Fanta and Sprite would be in the lower band. Fruit juices will not be included in the tax – this will no doubt form part of soft drinks companies’ case against what they see as a highly selective, punitive tax on their industry.

Another point put forward by opponents of the bill, is the current childhood obesity statistics; arguing that they have been consistently falling over recent years, and therefore do not warrant a taxation measure that would hit the poorest in Britain. The precedent set by the UK Government will also undoubtedly set in motion the introduction of a similar measure in Wales and Scotland, where there has been a great deal of debate on the issue.

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“My Government will continue to work in cooperation with the devolve administrations to implement the extensive new powers in the Scotland Act and establish a strong and lasting devolution settlement in Wales.”

The Wales Bill will introduce a new reserved powers model for Welsh devolution and include transitional arrangements for the move.

It will devolve powers over consenting for all onshore wind in Wales, and up to 350 megawatts for all other onshore and offshore energy projects. Shale oil and gas licensing will also be devolved. Other areas that will receive devolved powers include ports, taxi regulation, registration of bus services, speed limits and sewerage services.

The Bill will also give the Assembly control over its own affairs, and will place provisions to place the Assembly and Welsh Government on a statutory footing, enshrining the consent process in law.

Finally, it will repeal the requirement for a referendum before a proportion of income tax is devolved.

Opposition response

Labour Shadow Welsh Secretary Nia Griffith said there should be no "unnecessary delays" to the Bill.

Plaid Cymru Westminster Group Leader, Hywel Williams MP, said: “Plaid Cymru has put forward its alternative Queen’s Speech which includes comprehensive measures to make Wales a stronger, safer and more prosperous country, upgrading our road and rail infrastructure, protecting our funding and allowing the Welsh police forces to focus on Welsh priorities. Instead we got one vague sentence on a Wales Bill that has already been announced.

“With the so-called ‘official opposition’ distracted, fighting each other and unable to decide on its purpose, it is once again left to the Party of Wales to stand up and fight for Wales’ interests in Westminster, and that is what we will continue to do.”

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Newly-appointed Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns faces a challenge in steering the second incarnation of the UK Government’s Wales Bill through Parliament in the year ahead.

Hailed as the offer to the National Assembly for Wales to balance out the powers given to the Scottish Parliament in the Scotland Act 2016, ministers were forced to return to the drawing board last year amid accusations of weak proposals.

In some ways, the Bill offers parity of esteem with Holyrood in allowing the National Assembly more control over its own affairs and reflected the permanence of it and the Welsh Government in statute.

However, critics of the Wales Bill feel that the new powers that have been on offer do not match those devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Can control over consent for all onshore wind projects, ports, taxi regulation, bus services registration and licensing for shale gas really compared to control over income tax?

Mr Cairns will also need to work hand-in-hand with the newly re-elected minority Welsh Government under First Minister Carwyn Jones. He was a critical friend to the settlement proposed by Mr Cairns’ predecessor, Stephen Crabb, even publishing his own version of the Wales Bill. This included the creation of separate law jurisdiction for Wales, the devolution of Air Passenger Duty and the partial devolution of income tax.

However, the politics of the Senedd have been complicated by the Moving Wales Forward agreement requiring Welsh Labour to consult with Plaid Cymru through the establishment of three new liaison committees, including one on the Constitution. The Welsh Secretary will face a tougher sell for his Bill among the Nationalists than among the Labour Party.

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