Fourteen measures from the King’s Speech analysed by BBC experts
10 minutes ago
By Kevin Peachey, @PeacheyK, Cost of living correspondent
BBC
A raft of new laws have been announced in the King’s Speech. Here BBC correspondents analyse some of the 39 new bills Keir Starmer’s government wants to pass.
Banning no-fault evictions
Housing is a priority area on which this government will be judged at the next election. A long-promised, but much-delayed, ban on no-fault evictions is included and now imminent.
The Renters’ Rights Bill, covering England, also includes Labour manifesto pledges to end manufactured rental bidding wars and allow tenants to request keeping a pet – which a landlord could not unreasonably refuse.
There will also be an extension of social housing safety rules, known as Awaab’s Law, into the private rental sector. Expect the detail of all this to be heavily scrutinised, not least by the House of Lords.
Campaigners want legislation to block any potential loopholes that would allow landlords to kick out tenants by the back door.
Landlords are pleading for a properly functioning court system to process justified evictions. On the day official data shows rents rising at a near-record 8.6% a year, they warn any exodus from the sector would reduce supply and increase the cost of renting at an even faster rate.
Bringing in ID cards
Just 10 days ago, Labour firmly ruled out the possibility of a digital ID card scheme. And yet here it is in all but name.
The concept of a digital ID card was championed by former Labour PM Sir Tony Blair, and in 2010 his government got as far as actually issuing 15,000 cards – but the following year the scheme was scrapped under the coalition.
Supporters make many claims, ranging from it making the process of buying a house more straightforward to offering an easier way to manage immigration. But privacy campaigners say it amounts to an unnecessary collection of personal data by the state.
There are many details to be figured out. Where will this huge database be stored and how will it be protected? Will it be internationally recognised, and might it replace any traditional forms of ID? And will people be required to pay for it?
Nationalising the trains
Labour has announced several bills to make its plans to reform England’s railways a reality. One will change existing legislation to make public, instead of private, operators the default.
Another will enable the creation of Great British Railways, an arms-length body to manage both tracks and trains. It’s aim will be to improve railways by making changes, such as simplifying ticketing. But it will take a while to set up, so don’t expect to see changes immediately.
Private operators’ contracts to run passenger rail services will also be brought into GBR as they expire. Labour says GBR will save money and make things more efficient. But critics have previously warned nationalisation could end up with the taxpayer paying more.
There is also a bill to boost England’s bus services, which have been in long-term decline. Labour is promising new powers for local leaders to take control of bus services in their areas, including through franchising. The restriction on the creation of new publicly-owned bus operators will also be lifted. The main risk involved is financial: people will need to use the services in sufficient numbers to avoid them losing money or fares having to rise.
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Holding water firms to account
A swell of public anger over the state of rivers, lakes and seas has seen the government announce measures to tackle polluting water companies. It says the Water (Special Measures) Bill will ensure water company bosses face personal criminal liability for breaking laws on water quality.
It also gives new powers for the regulator, Ofwat, to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met. Water companies will also be required by law to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet – although the government had already announced last year that all of England’s storm overflows are now electronically monitored.
Whether such monitoring helps prevent sewage pollution itself remains to be seen – last month a BBC investigation found every major English water company had reported data showing they were discharging raw sewage from storm overflows even when the weather was dry.
Meanwhile, all 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales are now under investigation over sewage spills.
Building more homes
The centrepiece of the King’s Speech was expected to be announcements on “turbocharging” housebuilding in England and obliging local councils to meet housing targets. But they weren’t there.
The government’s legislative programme does include proposals to speed up the planning system and do more to support renters and leaseholders. But where, the housing sector is asking, is the detail on how Labour will meet its promise to deliver 1.5 million extra houses in this Parliament, including many more social and affordable homes?
Ministers hope by handing more planning powers to England’s metro mayors, regional government will help deliver more homes. They also believe planning reforms will encourage developers to get building.
But there are concerns both among private housebuilders and social housing providers that the plans are not enough to reach a level of housing development last seen half a century ago.
Reforming mental health care
Plans for a Mental Health Bill will lead to a wide-ranging reform of the 1983 Mental Health Act in England and Wales – something many argue is long-overdue.
Every year around 50,000 people with severe mental health problems are sectioned. But in 2018, a government-commissioned review warned the law covering such detentions was being misused and did not properly protect their rights.
It recommended a raft of changes, including new rights to challenge treatment and legally-binding advanced care plans, which this bill paves the way for.
But despite promises to act at the time, the last government failed to push forward with new legislation. It is why experts in the field have reacted with mixed emotions at news it is a key priority for the new government. The charity Rethink says there was relief that reform is in sight, but frustration it has taken so long.
Banning zero-hour contracts
The proposed Employment Rights Bill certainly looks radical. It promises workers’ protection from unfair dismissal and the right to flexible working from day one. It also says that all adults should benefit from the minimum wage.
But there are caveats. Employers will still be able to offer a probationary period for new employees and it’s not clear whether these new rights will apply during that period. Employers are being asked to offer flexible working but only “as far as is reasonable”.
The government says exploitative zero-hour contracts will be banned – but the government is not saying that they can never be used by employers. Also, when it comes to the minimum wage, the government says it will “remove the discriminatory age bands to ensure every adult worker benefits”.
But what does the government mean by adult? Does it mean that anyone over the age of 18 will be entitled to the full ÂŁ11.44 rate? With a firm commitment to get more people working the government will be conscious of not doing anything that makes business reluctant to take on new hires.
Tackling people smugglers
Sceptics have dismissed plans for a new Border Security Command as re-arranging the furniture – but the King’s Speech puts flesh on the bones of the new body’s promised counter-terrorism style powers.
Most terrorism-related prosecutions these days are not for actual bomb plots, but for the acts terrorism suspects perform in the lead-up to a planned atrocity: fundraising, planning and buying items or other preparations. The government says this legal principle of “preparatory offences” can be applied to people smuggling.
After the bill becomes law, criminal gang members could be prosecuted for simply communicating or promoting the service of passage over the English Channel, or supplying materials – perhaps boat engines. In theory, all of this means smugglers could be hauled to court for their intentions alone.
These types of investigations into preparatory offences have had a really positive impact on the fight against terrorism – but they took time to bed in. There may not be a quick fix in relation to people smuggling – but the potential for an impact over the long-term is there to see.
Axing hereditary peers
Twenty years ago, Tony Blair’s government axed most of the 750 aristocrats who sat in the House of Lords as hereditary peers. But 92 of them were allowed to stay on a temporary basis. That became permanent and they are still there – voting on the laws of the land as their families have done for centuries.
Furthermore, in one of the oddest quirks of Westminster, the only elections that take place for a seat in the Lords happen when a hereditary peer retires or dies. The remaining ones then hold a by-election to bring another blue-blooded peer back.
The new government has had enough, describing the presence of hereditary peers in Parliament as outdated and indefensible. Forty-two of the 92 are Conservative and all are men.
The House of Lords has also ballooned in size to become the second-biggest political chamber in the world. Removing the hereditary peers will shrink the Lords by about 10%. Labour’s manifesto also promised to force all peers to retire at 80, although that did not feature in the King’s Speech. Longer-term ambitions to replace the unelected Upper Chamber with something else will also wait for another day.
Creating a new energy firm
GB Energy, the new publicly-owned company, is designed to accelerate the rollout of renewables as part of the government’s effort to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030. It will have £8.3bn of public cash over the course of the Parliament – including £1.2bn from raising the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
It won’t supply electricity to households – instead it will invest its cash alongside private companies. The government says it will help cut the average household bill by £300 a year. But electricity prices have fallen significantly since that estimate was made, reducing any savings. And there are questions about the assumption that renewables are always cheaper than fossil fuels.
Most renewable projects rely on borrowed money and interest rates are currently high. That will increase costs, which are also likely to rise because the government wants so many projects to be built at the same time – meaning more competition for the specialist supplies.
And there is another factor to consider; solar plants and onshore wind turbines are often very unpopular locally which can delay projects – again raising costs.
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Introducing more breakfast clubs
Labour has said again and again that its education plans are all about breaking down barriers to opportunity – and two measures in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will stand out for any parent grappling with the cost of living.
There’s the pledge to introduce free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England. The government says this will help children reach their potential – but it’s also aimed at getting them there in the first place.
Then there’s a proposed cap on the number of branded items schools can have as part of uniform policies. They’re already required to keep these more pricey items to a minimum, but there are still concerns about high costs.
Head teachers’ unions say most schools recognise the pressure that parents are under to pay for uniforms. But the statements they sent out this morning suggest they’re more concerned with the breakfast club roll-out and, crucially, where the funding is coming from.
Reforming leasehold law
Someone who owns a property outright, including the land it is built on, is a freeholder. With a leasehold, the person owns a lease, which gives them the right to use the property. But leaseholders are often charged expensive ground rent. They must get their freeholder or managing agent’s permission, as well as pay service charges for work or changes made to their homes.
There are five million leaseholders in the UK, almost exclusively in England and Wales. When leasehold flats or houses were first sold, a lease was granted for a fixed period of time, typically between 99 and 125 years – but sometimes up to 999 years. People may extend their lease or buy the freehold, but this has been complicated, expensive, and involved legal fees. A leasehold house can also be difficult to sell.
Reform of this controversial area was one of the final laws passed by the last Parliament. Now, Labour wants to go further. It wants ground rent regulated, and to “reinvigorate” commonhold – when flats are owned without an expiring lease and managed collectively.
Although this is a draft Bill and is unlikely to come into law anytime soon, campaigners are delighted, perhaps primarily because the government’s signal of intent will dissuade housebuilders going down the leasehold route. Scotland has already abolished leasehold properties.
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Restricting junk food adverts
Ministers plan to “restrict advertising of junk food to children along with the sale of high-caffeine drinks”. Both are ideas considered by the previous government without any concrete action being taken.
Many shops have already introduced voluntary bans on energy drink sales to under 16s amid concerns the high caffeine content could cause sleep problems, high blood pressure and anxiety.
Plans to ban smoking and place restrictions on the sale of vapes have also been revived. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was personally championed by Rishi Sunak, but fell when the general election was called.
The legislation will mean anyone who turns 15 in 2024 and those who are younger, will never legally be sold tobacco products in the UK. On the vaping side, it gives ministers the power to restrict the flavours, packaging and product presentation. If passed, it will mean we have some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world.
Halving violence against women
There was no detail in the speech about much-anticipated plans to make spiking a specific offence. The only mention was a desire to strengthen the law to improve the police response to it. However, the speech did say the government wants to ensure the police have the capability to respond robustly to domestic abuse, rape and other sexual offences.
How it’s going to do this is unclear from the speech alone – but in the Labour manifesto, the party said it would introduce new, specialist domestic abuse workers in 999 control rooms and put specialist rape investigation units in every force across England and Wales.
This would entail more trained police officers and extra resources at a time when policing is facing numerous challenges including retention and morale issues.
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