Queen's Speech and Executive Summary

My Government’s priority has always been to secure the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on 31 October. My Government intends to work towards a new partnership with the European Union, based on free trade and friendly cooperation [European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill].

My Ministers will work to implement new regimes for fisheries, agriculture and trade, seizing the opportunities that arise from leaving the European Union [Fisheries Bill, Agriculture Bill and Trade Bill]. An immigration bill, ending free movement, will lay the foundation for a fair, modern and global immigration system. My Government remains committed to ensuring that resident European citizens, who have built their lives in, and contributed so much to, the United Kingdom, have the right to remain. The bill will include measures that reinforce this commitment [Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill]. Steps will be taken to provide certainty, stability and new opportunities for the financial services and legal sectors [Financial Services Bill and Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill].

My Government’s new economic plan will be underpinned by a responsible fiscal strategy, investing in economic growth while maintaining the sustainability of the public finances.

Measures will be brought forward to support and strengthen the National Health Service, its workforce and resources, enabling it to deliver the highest quality care. New laws will be taken forward to help implement the National Health Service’s Long Term Plan in England, and to establish an independent body to investigate serious healthcare incidents [Health Service Safety Investigations Bill],

My Government will bring forward proposals to reform adult social care in England to ensure dignity in old age. My Ministers will continue work to reform the Mental Health Act to improve respect for, and care of, those receiving treatment.

My Government is committed to addressing violent crime, and to strengthening public confidence in the criminal justice system. New sentencing laws will see that the most serious offenders spend longer in custody to reflect better the severity of their crimes [Sentencing Bill]. Measures will be introduced to improve the justice system’s response to foreign national offenders [Foreign National Offenders Bill]. My Government will work to improve safety and security in prisons and to strengthen the rehabilitation of offenders. Proposals will be brought forward to ensure that victims receive the support they need and the justice they deserve. Laws will be introduced to ensure that the parole system recognises the pain to victims and their families caused by offenders refusing to disclose information relating to their crimes [Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill].

A new duty will be placed on public sector bodies, ensuring they work together to address serious violence [Serious Violence Bill]. Police officers will be provided with the protections they need to keep the population safe [Police Protections Bill]. They will also be awarded the power to arrest individuals who are wanted by trusted international partners [Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Bill].

My Government will bring forward measures to protect individuals, families and their homes. Legislation will transform the approach of the justice system and other agencies to victims of domestic abuse [Domestic Abuse Bill], and minimise the impact of divorce, particularly on children [Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill]. My Ministers will continue to develop proposals to improve internet safety, and will bring forward laws to implement new building safety standards.

My Ministers will ensure that all young people have access to an excellent education, unlocking their full potential and preparing them for the world of work. My Government will take steps to make work fairer, introducing measures that will support those working hard [Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill]. To help people plan for the future, measures will be brought forward to provide simpler oversight of pensions savings. To protect people’s savings for later life, new laws will provide greater powers to tackle irresponsible management of private pension schemes [Pension Schemes Bill].

To ensure that the benefits of a prospering economy reach every comer of the United Kingdom, my Ministers will bring forward a National Infrastructure Strategy. This will set out a long-term vision to improve the nation’s digital, transport and energy infrastructure. New legislation will help accelerate the delivery of fast, reliable and secure broadband networks to millions of homes [Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill]. An aviation bill will provide for the effective and efficient management of the United Kingdom’s airspace Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill. Proposals on railway reform will be brought forward.

A white paper will be published to set out my Government’s ambitions for unleashing regional potential in England, and to enable decisions that affect local people to be made at a local level.

My Government is committed to establishing the United Kingdom as a world-leader in scientific capability and space technology. Increased investment in science will be 

complemented by the development of a new funding agency, a more open visa system, and an ambitious national space strategy.

My Ministers remain committed to protecting and improving the environment for future generations. For the first time, environmental principles will be enshrined in law. Measures will be introduced to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats so plants and wildlife can thrive. Legislation will also create new legally-binding environmental improvement targets, A new, world-leading independent regulator will be established in statute to scrutinise environmental policy and law, investigate complaints and take enforcement action [Environment Bill].

Proposals will also be brought forward to promote and protect the welfare of animals [Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill], including banning imports from trophy hunting.

The integrity and prosperity of the union that binds the four nations of the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance to my Government. My Ministers will bring forward measures to support citizens across all the nations of the United Kingdom.

My Government remains committed to working with all parties in Northern Ireland to support the return of devolved government and to address the legacy of the past.

My Government will take steps to protect the integrity of democracy and the electoral system in the United Kingdom.

My Government will continue to invest in our gallant Armed Forces. My Ministers will honour the Armed Forces Covenant and the NATO commitment to spend at least two per cent of national income on defence.

As the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, my Government will ensure that it continues to play a leading role in global affairs, defending its interests and promoting its values.

My Government will be at the forefront of efforts to solve the most complex international security issues. It will champion global free trade and work alongside international partners to solve the most pressing global challenges. It will prioritise tackling climate change and ensuring that all girls have access to twelve years of quality education.

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Estimates for the public services will be laid before you.

MY LORDS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Other measures will be laid before you.

I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Queen’s Speech will deliver Brexit alongside an ambitious programme of domestic reform that delivers real change to the lives of individuals and benefits to wider society. This programme will focus on:

• supporting the NHS to deliver world-class healthcare;
• tackling violent crime and strengthening the criminal justice system to keep the population safe and support victims;
• ensuring fairness and protection for individuals and families;
• “levelling up” opportunity across the United Kingdom, through better infrastructure, education and science; and
• protecting the environment and promoting animal welfare.

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, based on free trade and friendly cooperation. The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will ratify that deal once secured.
• We will reform UK agriculture policy through an Agriculture Bill, introducing schemes to pay for public goods like environmental protection and strengthening transparency and fairness in the supply chain.
• The Fisheries Bill will enable us to reclaim control over who can fish in our waters, and under what terms, ensuring the sustainability of our marine life and environment.
• Legislation will be taken forward to capitalise on the opportunities that will come from our newly independent trade policy and deliver for UK businesses and customers.
• The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination Bill will end free movement, deliver a new fair, modern and global immigration system, and reaffirm our commitment to the right to remain for resident European citizens who have built their lives here in the UK and contributed so much.
• The Financial Services Bill will provide certainty and stability for this critical sector, maintaining the UK’s world-leading regulatory standards and keeping the UK open to international markets after Brexit.
• The Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill will make sure that individuals, families and businesses in the UK who become involved in international legal disputes have a clear framework for cross-border resolutions.

1The Speech sets out a number of key measures to support the NHS and our healthcare system:

• We will work to implement the NHS Long Term Plan in England, building on the NHS’s own recommendations to ensure a health service fit for the future.
• Legislation will be taken forward to establish the Health Service Safety Investigations Body. This will be the world’s first such body, charged with independence and powers to investigate incidents that occur during the provision of NHS services that have, or may have, implications for the safety of patients.
• A Medicines and Medical Devices Bill will capitalise on opportunities to ensure that our NHS and patients can have faster access to innovative medicines, while supporting the growth of our domestic sector.
• 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.

The Speech reaffirms our commitment to tackling violent crime, strengthening the criminal justice system and ensuring 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.
• Accelerating our plans to enshrine in law the support victims are entitled to; we will consult on a new Victims’ Law and publish a revised Victims’ Code early in 2020.
• New legislation will require the Parole Board to take into account an offender’s failure to disclose certain information about their crime - a version of Helen’s Law.
• A Serious Violence Bill will place a duty on public bodies across different sectors to work together and share data and information to identify and tackle early factors that can lead to crime, and put in place plans to prevent and reduce serious violence.
• 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.

This Queen’s Speech outlines a number of key measures we will progress to ensure fairness and protection for individuals and families:

• The Domestic Abuse Bill, which will transform the response, across sectors and agencies, to victims of this crime, will continue to be progressed through Parliament (it was carried over from the previous session).
• 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, while ensuring the decision to divorce remains a carefully considered decision.
• We are committed to making the UK the safest place to be online and will continue to develop proposals to achieve this end, including the introduction of 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 their saving for later life by giving them access to information on their pensions’ savings in one place online, for the first time. It will also improve the protection of people’s pensions, strengthening the powers of the regulator to tackle irresponsible management of pension schemes.
• To make sure residents are safe in their homes, we will take forward legislative measures that put in place new and modernised regulatory regimes for building safety and construction products. We will also ensure that residents have a stronger voice in the system.

The Speech sets out how we will level up every comer of the United Kingdom through better education, infrastructure and science, renewing the ties that bind us together:

• We are giving schools a multi-billion pound boost, meaning that every school has more money for every child. We will also move towards delivering this funding directly to schools, through a single national formula.
• We will take bold steps to accelerate delivery of fast, reliable and secure broadband networks to millions of homes. This will include the introduction of the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill to make it easier for telecoms companies to install digital infrastructure when landlords ignore repeated requests for access. We will also bring forward measures to ensure that 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 unmanned aircraft (drones).
  • We will bring forward legislation to make sure that people can get home quickly when an airline goes bust.
  • Later this autumn, we will publish a white paper on the recommendations of the Williams Review; the first comprehensive review of railway in a generation. We will focus on reforms that put passengers at the heart of the railway, provide value for taxpayers and deliver economic, social and environmental benefits across Britain.
  • We will publish a white paper that will reiterate our commitment to levelling up opportunities and investment in the regions across England.
  • We want to establish the UK as a global science superpower, building on our existing world-excellence. 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.

  This Queen’s Speech deepens our commitment to the natural environment and animal welfare:

  • We will introduce a landmark Environment Bill to ensure that we protect and preserve this planet for generations to come. It will include measures to establish a new Office for Environmental Protection, increase local powers to tackle air pollution and introduce charges for specified single use plastic items.
  • We will take forward several measures to promote and protect animal welfare, including 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.

  In addition to all the measures above, the Government will continue to drive forward work to deliver for every corner of the UK:

  • We will maintain a strong fiscal discipline to ensure the sustainability of the public finances, allowing us to invest in growing our economy
  • We will continue to uphold the constitutional integrity of the UK, working constructively with the devolved administrations and their legislatures to ensure our Union continues to flourish. And we will continue to work tirelessly to restore the devolved power-sharing government at Stormont to ensure the people of Northern Ireland have the political leadership of their elected local representatives.
  • 14We will continue to invest in our courageous Armed Forces, spending at least two per cent of our GDP on Defence every year of this Parliament, and ensuring that, as a country, we support both those who serve and have served to keep us safe.
  • We will protect the integrity of our democracy and elections, tackling electoral fraud through the introduction of voter ID and banning postal vote harvesting.
  • Finally, as we leave the EU we will maintain our place as leaders on the international stage, championing our interests and values. We will continue to work alongside our international partners to tackle the most pressing global challenges, including climate change, and we will secure ambitious new trade deals with all our partners across the world.