When people voted in the EU referendum, they voted for a better future for this country. But years of delay and indecision by politicians means the change they hoped for hasn’t yet been delivered.
The Queen’s Speech set out our ambitious domestic agenda, focusing on our core priorities of getting Brexit done, investing in our NHS, tackling violent crime, and dealing with the cost of living.
By getting Brexit done, we will end the uncertainty and get on with an ambitious programme to build a brighter future for everyone in this country.
We are leaving the European Union on 31 October. This Queen’s Speech sets out how we will seize the opportunities created by Brexit:
- We remain committed to securing a deal with the EU and negotiating an ambitious future relationship – The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will ratify that deal once secured.
- An Agriculture Bill will reform UK agriculture policy introducing schemes to pay for public goods.
- The Fisheries Bill will enable us to reclaim control over who can fish in our waters.
- The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination Bill will end free movement, deliver a new fair, modern and global immigration system.
- The Financial Services Bill will provide certainty and stability, maintaining our world-leading regulatory standards and keeping the UK open to international markets after Brexit.
- The Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill will ensure individuals and businesses who become involved in international legal disputes have a clear framework for resolutions.
We will support the NHS and our healthcare system:
- We will take forward legislation to establish the Health Service Safety Investigations Body – the world’s first such body.
- A Medicines and Medical Devices Bill will ensure our NHS has faster access to innovative medicines.
- We will bring forward substantive proposals to fix the crisis in adult social care, giving people the dignity and security they deserve.
- We will continue to work to modernise and reform the Mental Health Act to ensure that people get the support they need, with a much greater say in their care.
We will tackle violent crime, strengthen the criminal justice system and ensure victims receive the support they need and the justice they deserve:
- A Sentencing Bill will change the automatic release point from halfway to two-thirds for adult offenders serving sentences of four years or more for serious violence or sexual offences.
- We will legislate to deal more effectively with foreign national offenders, increasing the maximum penalty for those who return to the UK in breach of a deportation order.
- We will consult on a new Victims’ Law and publish a revised Victims’ Code early in 2020 including a version of Helen’s Law.
- A Serious Violence Bill will place a duty on public bodies to work together and tackle factors that can lead to crime.
- A Police Protections Bill will support the police, establishing a Police Covenant that recognises their bravery, commitment and sacrifice.
- We will also legislate to empower police officers to immediately arrest someone they know is wanted for a serious crime committed in a trusted country, without having to apply to a court for a warrant first.
We will ensure fairness and protection for individuals and families:
- The Domestic Abuse Bill will transform the response to victims of this crime, will continue to be progressed through Parliament.
- We will re-introduce the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, removing unnecessary conflict during the divorce process, which so often leaves children caught in the middle.
- We will continue to develop proposals to make the UK the safest place to be online and will look to introduce new regulations for internet companies which ensure protections for web users.
- The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill will make sure that tips are kept in full by, or distributed fairly and transparently to, those who work hard to earn them.
- We will continue to deliver on the commitments set out in the Good Work Plan, ensuring that our employment practices keep pace with modern ways of working and productivity is enhanced.
- A Pension Schemes Bill will enable people to plan for later life by giving them access to information on their pensions’ savings in one place online whilst improving protections for pensions.
- We will take forward legislative measures to make sure residents are safe in their homes.We will also ensure that residents have a stronger voice in the system.
- We will protect the integrity of our democracy and elections, tackling electoral fraud through the introduction of voter ID and banning postal vote harvesting.
We will deepen our commitment to the natural environment and animal welfare:
- We will introduce a landmark Environment Bill to protect our planet for generations to come – including a new Office for Environmental Protection, more local powers to tackle air pollution and charges for specified single use plastic items.
- We will take forward several measures to protect animal welfare, re-introducing the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty. We will seek to improve the welfare of animals transported for slaughter, and ban the import and export of trophies from endangered animals.
We will level up every corner of the United Kingdom through better education, infrastructure and science, renewing the ties that bind us together:
- We will introduce the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill to make it easier to install digital infrastructure, and take steps to ensure all new homes are built with reliable and fast internet speeds.
- We will maintain our position as a world-leader in aviation, modernising our airspace to make journeys quicker, quieter and cleaner, whilst also tackling the unlawful use of drones.
- We will bring forward legislation so people can get home quickly when an airline goes bust.
- We will publish a white paper on the recommendations of the Williams Review, the first comprehensive review of railway in a generation putting passengers at the heart of the railway.
- We will publish a white paper that will reiterate our commitment to levelling up opportunities and investment in the regions across England.
- We will boost public R&D funding, launch a comprehensive UK Space Strategy, introduce a fast-track immigration scheme for top scientists and researchers and develop proposals for a new funding agency.
