Today’s Queen’s Speech has set out the Government’s plans for the year ahead.
The Speech, given at the State Opening of Parliament, covered the new legislation the Government intends to introduce.
The Bills announced will:
- Enable more young people to benefit from higher education and abolish up-front tuition fees
- Encourage employers to provide good quality pensions and individuals to save for retirement, and set up a Pension Protection Fund to protect people when companies become insolvent
- Allow registration of civil partnerships between same sex couples
- Establish a single tier of appeal against asylum decisions
- Take forward work on an incremental approach to a national identity cards scheme
- Modernise the laws on domestic violence and improve services designed to protect children
- Remove hereditary peers and set up an independent Appointments Commission
- Enable a referendum on the single currency, subject to the government’s five economic tests being met
- Make the planning system faster and fairer with greater community participation
- Improve traffic flows and manage road works more effectively
- Modernise charity law and allow for the creation of Community Interest Companies
- In Northern Ireland, the government will continue to work closely with the political parties and the Irish Government to secure the full implementation of the Belfast agreement.
The Government will also play an active role in preparing the European Union for the accession of ten new member states in May and work hard to conclude negotiations on the new constitutional treaty.
On the international front, the Government will work for a strong partnership between Europe and the US, underpinned by NATO, and for effective action in tackling the threat from global terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Britain’s commitment to rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq and promote peace in the Middle East will continue.
The Government will also work to reduce world poverty and press for a fairer trade system as part of the current round of world trade negotiations.
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