Queen's Speech 2022 - Speech and Executive Summary

MY LORDS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

My Government’s priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families. My Government will level up opportunity in all parts of the country and support more people into work. My Ministers will continue to support the police to make the streets safer, and fund the National Health Service to reduce the COVID backlogs. In these challenging times, my Government will play a leading role in defending democracy and freedom across the world, including continuing to support the people of Ukraine.

My Government will drive economic growth to improve living standards and fund sustainable investment in public services. This will be underpinned by a responsible approach to the public finances, reducing debt while reforming and cutting taxes. My Ministers will support the Bank of England to return inflation to its target.

A Bill will be brought forward to drive local growth, empowering local leaders to regenerate their areas, and ensuring everyone can share in the United Kingdom’s success. The planning system will be reformed to give residents more involvement in local development [Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill].

My Government will improve transport across the United Kingdom, delivering safer, cleaner services and enabling more innovations. Legislation will be introduced to modernise rail services and improve reliability for passengers [Transport Bill].

My Ministers will bring forward an Energy Bill to deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy. This will build on the success of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year [Energy Security Bill]. Draft legislation to promote competition, strengthen consumer rights and protect households and businesses will be published. Measures will also be published to create new competition rules for digital markets and the largest digital firms [Draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill].

My Government will establish the UK Infrastructure Bank in legislation, with objectives to support economic growth and the delivery of net zero [UK Infrastructure Bank Bill].

Reforms to education will help every child fulfil their potential wherever they live, raising standards and improving the quality of schools and higher education [Schools Bill, Higher Education Bill]. My Ministers will publish draft legislation to reform the Mental Health Act [Draft Mental Health Act Reform Bill].

My Government will continue to seize the opportunities of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, to support economic growth. Regulations on businesses will be repealed and reformed. A bill will enable law inherited from the European Union to be more easily amended [Brexit Freedoms Bill]. Public sector procurement will be simplified to provide new opportunities for small businesses [Procurement Bill].

New legislation will strengthen the United Kingdom’s financial services industry, ensuring that it continues to act in the interest of all people and communities [Financial Services and Markets Bill]. The United Kingdom’s data protection regime will be reformed [Data Reform Bill].

My Government will continue to champion international trade, delivering jobs across the country and growing the economy. Legislation will be introduced to enable the implementation of the United Kingdom’s first new Free Trade Agreements since leaving the European Union [Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill].

My Ministers will encourage agricultural and scientific innovation at home. Legislation will unlock the potential of new technologies to promote sustainable and efficient farming and food production [Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill].

My Government will protect the integrity of the United Kingdom’s borders and ensure the safety of its people. My Ministers will take action to prevent dangerous and illegal Channel crossings and tackle the criminal gangs who profit from facilitating them. Legislation will be introduced to ensure the police have the powers to make the streets safer [Public Order Bill].

A bill will be brought forward to further strengthen powers to tackle illicit finance, reduce economic crime and help businesses grow [Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill]. Measures will be introduced to support the security services and help them protect the United Kingdom [National Security Bill].

My Government will lead the way in championing security around the world. It will continue to invest in our gallant Armed Forces.

My Ministers will work closely with international partners to maintain a united NATO and address the most pressing global security challenges.

The continued success and integrity of the whole of the United Kingdom is of paramount importance to my Government, including the internal economic bonds between all of its parts. My Government will prioritise support for the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and its institutions, including through legislation to address the legacy of the past [Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill].

My Government will ensure the constitution is defended. My Ministers will restore the balance of power between the legislature and the courts by introducing a Bill of Rights [Bill of Rights]. Legislation will prevent public bodies engaging in boycotts that undermine community cohesion [Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Bill].

My Government will introduce legislation to improve the regulation of social housing to strengthen the rights of tenants and ensure better quality, safer homes [Social Housing Regulation Bill]. Legislation will also be introduced to ban conversion therapy [Conversion Therapy Bill]. Proposals will be published to establish an independent regulator of English football.

In this year of my Platinum Jubilee, I look forward to the celebrations taking place across the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth, and to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer.

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 focuses on the priorities of the great British public.

The Speech sets out how the Government is growing the economy to address the cost of living:

• ●  We are already providing support to families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help with cost of living pressures. The Government will not hesitate to take further steps to support households if needed. We will continue to focus on bringing forward measures to help people into work, which is the best approach to managing the cost of living long term.

• ●  We have a strong labour market, with unemployment back to below its pre- pandemic rate, and we are supporting people into high-skilled, well-paid work through our multi-billion pound Plan for Jobs.

• ●  The fiscal outlook remains uncertain, which is why we must continue with our work to repair the public finances and return them to a sustainable path.

• ●  We will regenerate our towns and cities, shifting power and accountability to local leaders to improve those areas, drive economic growth, and give communities a louder voice to deliver the ambitions set out in our landmark Levelling Up White Paper.

• ●  We will deliver a stronger and more highly performing education system that provides young people with the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their potential, no matter where they live.

• ●  We will complete the establishment of the UK Infrastructure Bank, utilising its £22 billion financial capacity to support growth, improve connections across the country and help level up the UK whilst supporting our transition to net zero by 2050.

• ●  We will deliver a more secure, homegrown energy system that is cleaner and more affordable.

• ●  We will continue to deliver improvements to transport networks across the UK, providing for reliable services, reducing journey times and spreading economic growth to all regions.

• ●  We will modernise business rates, creating a fairer and more accurate system that will promote investment, productivity and decarbonisation.

• ●  We will strengthen our public service broadcasters to make sure they continue to thrive, benefitting the UK’s creative economy and producing outstanding British content.

• ●  Our Social Housing Regulation Bill will eradicate the poor treatment of tenants by some landlords. We will focus on levelling up homeownership for all as part of a fair and just housing system.

• ●  Similarly, the Renters Reform Bill will abolish so-called ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions and strengthen landlords’ rights of possession, providing a fair and effective market for both tenants and landlords.

• ●  We will end the supremacy of European law and seize the benefits of Brexit to grow the economy to address the cost of living and support business innovation and entrepreneurship, while cutting £1 billion of EU red tape for businesses.

• ●  We will legislate to enable the implementation of the UK’s world class trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, delivering economic opportunities across a range of sectors and businesses in all parts of the UK.

• ●  We will remove unnecessary barriers inherited from the EU to enable the development and marketing of precision bred plants and animals and grow the economy by positioning the UK as the leading country in which to invest in agri- food research and innovation.

• ●  Our public procurement regime will be made more simple, transparent and accessible to better meet the country’s needs. This will bring a huge boost to businesses and voluntary, charitable and social enterprises, who will be able to compete for public contracts.

• ●  We will create a world class data rights regime, reduce burdens on businesses, boost the economy, and help scientists to innovate.

• ●  The Financial Services and Markets Bill will enhance the UK’s position as a global leader in financial services, through the establishment of a coherent, agile and internationally-respected approach to financial services regulation.

  The Government will make the streets safer by cutting crime and ensuring the police and security services have the powers they need:

• ●  We will get more police on our streets, cut crime and protect the public. We have already recruited over 13,500 more police officers and launched a new Drugs Strategy to shut down county lines gangs.

• ●  We have already made significant reforms in this Parliament. Our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act will ensure that the most serious sexual and violent offenders will spend longer in prison, while the police will have new stop and search powers to target those convicted of crimes involving knives.

• ●  We will undertake the biggest overhaul of state threats legislation for a generation, providing our world class law enforcement and intelligence agencies with enhanced powers to tackle the full range of evolving state threats.

• ●  Our Public Order Bill will give the police the powers they need to prevent a minority of protestors from using guerrilla tactics that cause misery to the hard- working public, disrupting businesses, costing millions in taxpayers’ money and putting lives at risk.

• ●  We will also prevent criminals and terrorists from exploiting the UK’s economy by introducing the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which will crack down on illicit finance and strengthen the UK’s reputation as a place where legitimate businesses can grow.

• ●  A draft Victims Bill will strengthen rights for victims by placing the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing, restore victims' confidence that their voices will be properly heard and that perpetrators will be brought to justice.

  The Government is funding the NHS to clear the COVID-19 backlog:

• ●  Following the unprecedented challenges placed on the NHS by COVID-19, we will spend more than £8 billion from 2022-23 to 2024-25, supported by the revenue from the Health and Social Care Levy, to clear the COVID-19 backlogs.

• ●  The NHS vaccination programme has been the biggest and fastest in the NHS’ history, saving countless lives and enabling us to learn to live with COVID-19. Millions of people are being invited to receive a Spring booster for an additional dose for the most vulnerable individuals

• ●  We have recruited an additional 27,000 nurses, we are investing £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million GP appointments, and we are delivering our manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals. We are also investing £2.3 billion to increase diagnostic activity with ambitions to roll out up to 160 community diagnostic centres over the next three years.

  The Government is providing the leadership needed in these challenging times:

• ●  We will keep standing up for freedom and democracy against Russia’s barbaric attack against Ukraine by building a network of security and defence partnerships and strengthening economic ties across the globe.

• ●  Our Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Bill will stop public bodies from adopting their own approach to international relations.

• ●  We will introduce a Bill of Rights to ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government, strengthening freedom of speech, our common law traditions and reducing reliance on Strasbourg case law.

• ●  We will ban abhorrent conversion therapy practices intended to change sexual orientation.

• ●  We will fulfil our manifesto commitment to address the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past, providing better outcomes for victims, survivors and their families and giving veterans the protections they deserve.

• ●  We will deliver a carefully balanced package of identity and language measures which will recognise and celebrate Northern Ireland’s diversity of identities and culture, accommodating cultural difference and enhancing and developing the Ulster Scots/Ulster British tradition in Northern Ireland while also protecting the Irish language.

• ●  We will protect and promote the combined strengths of the UK and the values we share, and ensure our institutions benefit people in every part of our country. We will ensure that opportunity is shared across every corner of the UK and are committed to effective collaboration with devolved governments and local leaders to deliver for people across the UK and truly level up.