Queen's Speech 2007
Summary
The
Government's draft legislative programme for the 2007-08 Parliamentary session
was set out in advance of the Queen's Speech in a Command Paper
'The
Governance of Britain - The Government's Draft Legislative Programme' (Cm.
7175) published in July 2007. This Paper was the first such statement in
the history of Parliament and will be repeated on an annual basis.
Where previously the legislative programme was not released to the public in
advance of the Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, this new
annual statement allows for advance notice of and consultation on the
legislation that the Government plans to bring forward.
This statement
is the first step towards reaffirming the authority of Parliament and
clarifying the legislative process, as set out in the Government's proposals
for constitutional reform published in July 2007 as
'The
Governance of Britain' (Cm. 7170).
The programme contains Bills
whose objectives are to implement the Government’s mission – to meet the rising
aspirations of the British people by providing new and better opportunities for
all.
The legislation programme for 2007-08 includes: (Click on the
title for more detail)
Banking
System Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to impove the current
framework for dealing with banks in distress, including the arrangements for
depositor protection.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary
Provisions) Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to clarify the
legislative and regulatory position of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now
renamed High Speed 1) ahead of a restructuring of London and Continental
Railways (LCR).
Children and Young Persons Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to reform the statutory framework around the care
system to enable children and young people to receive high quality care and
support and drive improvements in the delivery of services focused on the needs
of the child.
Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to:
- Establish the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission as a Non
Departmental Public Body
- Amend the Child Support Act 1992 to simplify and strengthen the assessment
and enforcement of child maintenance liability
- Set up a scheme paying
a lump sum to those suffering from the asbestos related disease mesothelioma
who are not currently eligible for compensation.
Climate Change Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to create a
long term legal framework to reduce the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions up to
2050 and beyond.
Counter Terrorism Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to:
- Ensure all available
information can be used to fight terrorism
- Deal with terrorist suspects
after they have been charged
- Make other changes to legislation to
assist in the fight against terrorism.
Criminal Justice
and Immigration Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to take forward the Government’s criminal
justice reform agenda by reducing re-offending, protecting the public,
promoting justice, improving access to justice and increasing confidence in the
justice system.
Crossrail Bill
The purpose of the
Bill is to:
- Grant powers for the construction, maintenance and
operation of Crossrail: a new east-west railway linking Maidenhead and Heathrow
with Shenfield and Abbey Wood through new tunnels under central London
- Performing a similar function to a public inquiry, a special Select
Committee stage is added to the normal public bill process to consider
petitions from those whose property and private rights are affected.
Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill
The
purpose of the Bill is to:
- Enable the banking industry to transfer
unclaimed assets in the banking system so that they may be reinvested in
society, i.e. for youth facilities, and financial inclusion and social
investment initiatives, whilst ensuring the rights of owners to be reunited
with their assets are protected.
Previously known as the Unclaimed
Assets Bill.
Education and Skills Bill
The purpose
of the Bill is to raise to 18 the minimum age at which young people can leave
education or training, and bring in the legislative changes needed to implement
key elements of the
Leitch
Review into the UK’s long-term skills needs.
Employment
Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to simplify, clarify and build a
stronger enforcement regime for key aspects of employment law.
Energy Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to help the UK
to ensure secure supplies of energy, tackle climate change and target fuel
poverty measures more effectively.
European Communities
(Finance) Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to amend the European
Communities Act 1972 to include the revised decision on the Communities’ system
of own resources (Own Resources Decision (ORD)).
European
Union Reform Treaty Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to give effect
in UK law to the EU Reform Treaty due to be signed in December, enabling the
enlarged EU of 27 Member States to work effectively.
Health
and Social Care Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to:
- Create a new integrated regulator for health and adult social care, Ofcare,
bringing together existing health and social care regulators into one
regulatory body
- Reform professional regulation to enhance public and
professional confidence and strengthen clinical governance as part of the
Government’s response to the
Shipman
Inquiry
- Include provisions to make a one off payment to all
expectant mothers from the 29th week of pregnancy.
Housing and Regeneration Bill
The purpose of the Bill is
to:
- Support delivery of housing supply through the creation of a
new homes agency
- Reform social housing regulation to put tenants at the
heart of social housing, increase choice and drive up standards
- Reform
social housing to ensure that it is a modern and flexible public service.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
The purpose
of the Bill is to:
- Update the regulation of assisted reproduction
and embryo research
- Create the Regulatory Authority for Tissue &
Embryos (RATE), replacing the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority
(HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
Local
Transport Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to support the
Government’s strategy to tackle road congestion and improve public transport by
ensuring local authorities have the right powers to take action to meet local
transport needs.
National Insurance Contributions Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to:
- Implement part of the
2007 Budget announcement setting out a package of reforms to modernise the tax
and benefit system
- Enable alignment of the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL)
for Class 1 NICs purposes with the point at which higher rate income tax
becomes payable
- Remove the current primary Social Security legislation
that restricts the maximum UEL to no more than seven and a half times the
Primary Threshold. The Primary Threshold is the point at which Class 1 NICs
become payable on a person’s earnings.
Pensions Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to enact the remaining provisions of our
pensions reform package set out in the May 2006 White Paper,
'Security
in Retirement: Towards a new pension system' (Cm. 6841).
Planning Reform Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to
streamline and improve planning including introducing a single consents regime
for major infrastructure projects, establishing an independent infrastructure
planning commission and further measures to improve the town and country
planning system.
Political Party Funding and Expenditure
Proposals
The purpose of the Bill is to create a fair and
transparent system of political party funding that does not disadvantage any
party and restores public confidence in the systems.
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill
The purpose of the
Bill is to:
- Further advance the Government’s policy on better
regulation by establishing the Local Better Regulation Office (LBR) as a
statutory corporation
- Provide a framework for a range of alternative
administrative sanctions for regulatory non-compliance.
Sale of Student Loans Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to enable
the Secretary of State to conduct a programme of sales of the student loan
portfolio.
Draft Legislation
The Speech also sets out draft legislation
to be considered during the 2007-08 session, including:
- Draft
Apprenticeship Reform Bill
- Draft Citizenship and Immigration Bill
- Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill
- Draft Cultural Property
(Armed Conflict) Bill
- Draft Heritage Protection Bill
- Draft
Marine Bill
- Draft Marine Navigation and Port Safety Bill
The following Bills have been dropped from the Draft Legislative
Programme:
- Coroners' Bill
- Planning Gain
Supplement Bill
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