Queen's Speech Leak Reveals Coalition Government Legislative Plans - *New Bills now Included*

Ministers to investigate how draft of address was leaked to newspapers, revealing plans for bills on education and policing

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The new coalition government formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg was poised to launch a major leak inquiry after a draft of the Queen's speech to be delivered on Tuesday was published in Sunday newspapers.

The unprecendented breach of Whitehall security and protocol is particularly embarrassing as the leaked information contained not only a list of bills to be unveiled to parliament, but also a version of what the Queen was due to say at Tuesday's state opening of parliament.

The leak of the speech was condemned by the shadow leader of the Commons, Rosie Winterton, who said that she would be calling on the government to explain what had happened.

"If it is right that details of the Queen's speech have been given to Sunday newspapers before it has been submitted to parliament, the new government will have to explain to parliament their apparent attitude of disregard," she said.

"I will be calling on the leader of the House of Commons to explain the situation in parliament and investigate it fully."

Uh ohhhh, it seems there is a "royal leak" in the palace Better call a plumber.

On a serious not however, I am curious as to how they are planning to reform "policing" though. That is quite an interesting tidbit in the article.

[edit on 5/23/2010 by UberL33t]

reply to post by UberL33t


Can you find a link to the leaked speech?

It sounds like the move of the government is for less government interference in the lives of the people. That is what I am getting from the article.

Especially the part where the police leaders are saying that the country will be less safe.

Wow, people would think that less police would be a good thing, by the looks of 1984esque cameras and intrusion into the lives of the people.

Seems to me that there is a move away from big government is being attempted in Britain and the totalitarians are making an effort to thwart it.

reply to post by endisnighe


This should do:

BILLS FOR IMMEDIATE INTRODUCTION

Academies Bill (Dept for Education)

This is being promoted as a flagship piece of legislation which will enshrine the new coalition government’s commitment to education. It will allow more schools to become academies with freedom from day-to-day Whitehall control, as well as giving more say to teachers to decide what should be in the curriculum.

Ministers believe that “setting rules in Whitehall” is not the way to raise standards in classrooms.

CON POLICY

Local Government (Revocation of Structural Change) Bill. (Dept for Communities and Local Govt).

This will stop the planned creation of single-tier councils serving Exeter and Norwich. Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, brands the restructuring plans "wasteful and unnecessary" and claims scrapping them will save £40 million.

It is also likely to stop dozens of Tory and Lib Dem councillors losing their current posts.

CON LIB POLICY

Identity Documents Bill (Home Office).

The imminent scrapping of identity cards and the planned National Identity Register is already being foreshadowed on the Home Office website. This Bill will enact a policy that both coalition partners put forward but the fact it is one of the first three pieces of legislation to be unveiled is a boost for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems' civil liberties agenda.

LIB CON POLICY

BILLS TO BE INTRODUCED BEFORE SUMMER RECESS

Office of Budget Responsibility (and National Audit Office Governance) Bill. (Treasury)

This sets up one of the key bodies promoted by George Osborne – the independent OBR which will replace the Treasury as the official "forecaster" for growth and borrowing ahead of the emergency Budget next month.

It is likely also to reform the way the National Audit Office, the state spending watchdog, is run.

CON

The Great Repeals Bill aka The Freedom Bill (Cabinet Office).

This will enact a raft of reforms described by Nick Clegg last week as the most radical redistribution of power from the state to the people in 200 years. It will include the scrapping of universal DNA databases and the placing of restrictions on internet records while the use of CCTV cameras will be reviewed, the ContactPoint children's database will be shut down. Libel laws will be reviewed while limits on peaceful protest will be removed.

LIB

Equitable Life Payments Scheme Bill. (Treasury)

This is set to offer compensation without means-testing for up to a million savers who lost out when the insurance company Equitable Life came close to collapse a decade ago.

Payouts, which could include families of 30,000 investors who have died since the company got into trouble, could run into hundreds of millions of pounds.

However, this Bill would enact a key Tory pre-election promise.

CON

Terrorist Asset Freezing Bill. (Treasury)

There is already provision for freezing terrorists' assets in law – however, a new Bill could be the vehicle for expanding the definition of an organisation classed as terrorist, possibly to include Hizb-ut-Tahir, the revolutionary Islamist party, which David Cameron has said he will ban.

CON

National Insurance Contributions Bill. (Treasury)

This is set to be the vehicle for stopping in its tracks Labour's planned rise in National Insurance Contributions for employers, which was to come into force next year and was dubbed a "jobs tax" by the Tories. However after consultations with the Lib Dems, the rise in NICs for employees will still go ahead.

CON LIB

Parliamentary Reform Bill. (Ministry of Justice).

Ken Clarke will oversee one of the big prizes for the Lib Dems of their coalition deal – a huge political reform package which is likely to include five-year fixed-term parliaments (including the controversial "55 per cent" rule for dissolving parliament), reducing the number of MPs, giving voters the right to recall their MP and possibly reform of the House of Lords to make it wholly or mainly elected.

Its biggest trophy for the Lib Dems would be a paving of the way for a referendum on shifting from first-past-the post to the multi-choice Additional Vote system for general elections.

LIB

BILLS TO BE INTRODUCED AFTER SUMMER RECESS

Decentralisation and Localism Bill. (Department for Communities and Local Government).

Eric Pickles, the Communities secretary, will take charge of the drive to devolve greater powers to councils and local communities.

Communities are to be given much more control over housing and planning decisions. Local government finance is to be "reviewed".

CON LIB

Welfare Reform Bill (DWP).

The key piece of legislation for Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary. This will be "sold" as helping people back into work, partly by scrapping all existing programmes and establishing a single welfare-to-work regime.

However it will also increase sanctions on those who refuse, including reassessing all Incapacity Benefit claimants for "readiness to work" – with the threat of being moved on to Jobseeker's Allowance.

CON

Pensions and Savings Bill (DWP).

This is likely to restore the earnings link for the basic state pension – with a guarantee that pensions are raised by at least 2.5 per cent a year. It could also set out a timetable for the review into the date at which the state pension age starts to rise.

LIB

Financial Services Regulation Bill. (Treasury)

Likely to enact various reforms planned by George Osborne, the Chancellor, including putting regulation back in the hands of the Bank of England – a key change from the Labour years. It could also be the vehicle for introducing a banking levy and "cracking down" on what ministers describe as "unacceptable" bonuses.

Significantly, though, Mr Osborne's Treasury is in the lead here, rather than Vince Cable's business department.

CON

Energy Security and Green Economy Bill. (Dept for Energy and Climate Change)

A big win for the Liberal Democrats and Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, this will seek to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses and promote low carbon energy production. Energy supplies will also be "secured".

LIB

Public Bodies Bill. (Cabinet Office)

An assault on quangos is likely to be a key feature of efforts by the new government to find billions of pounds of "efficiency savings" across Whitehall. The drive was promised by the Conservatives in opposition but, significantly, has been handed to Nick Clegg and his team at the Cabinet Office.

LIB CON

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (Home Office).

The vehicle for making police forces more accountable – including oversight by what ministers refer to as a directly elected "individual". Police must also publish monthly local crime data statistics. This is also likely to include a fresh crackdown on anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related violence.

CON

European Communities (Amendment) Referendum Lock Bill (Foreign Office).

The key Bill for William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, which will enshrine the commitment to hold a referendum if there are any more attempts by the EU to grab significant powers from Britain under the Lisbon Treaty or in any other way.

This is a significant move to reassure Tory activists.

CON

[continued next post]

[edit on 5/23/2010 by UberL33t]

Scotland Bill (Scotland Office)

This will implement the recommendations from the final report of the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution. These include giving the Scottish Parliament greater powers on raising taxes – as well as new borrowing powers. Some other responsibilities – including over drink-drive limits and speed limits – are also to be devolved.

LIB

Education and Children’s Bill (Dept for Education)

The second big bill for Michael Gove, the Children’s Secretary, this could be the vehicle for his much-anticipated “free schools” drive to allow different groups, including parents, to start and run state schools.

It could also include the Lib Dem-backed “pupil premium” which would see more money being spent on children from a disadvantaged background, as well as focusing on early-years learning.

BLUE YELLOW

Armed Forces Bill (Ministry of Defence).

The big vehicle for Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary. It is not clear what laws will be affected – but the coalition has already promised to rebuild the Military Covenant, including maximising leave periods, helping the children of service personnel, boosting recruitment into professions and providing extra mental health services for veterans.

CON

Health Bill. (Dept of Health)

The main Bill for Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary. The new government's main aims are to strengthen the voice of patients and the role of doctors in NHS decision-making, while improving public health. There will also be a big drive to reduce health "inequalities".

CON LIB

OTHER LEGISLATION

Overseas development aid – a parliamentary motion (Dept for International Development).

The government will commit via a parliamentary motion to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on development aid by 2013. Such a motion, however, is not legally binding – and ministers have already promised to "enshrine this commitment in law."

Airport Economic Regulation Bill (Department for Transport).

Described as reform to benefit passengers – could be the full-scale break-up of BAA's monopoly on airport ownership.

Cap on non-EU economic migrants – secondary legislation. (Home Office).

There is likely to be controversy if parliament is not given the chance of a full debate on plans to set an annual "cap" on immigrants from outside the EU and this is simply done by ministerial decree.

"Economic migrants" suggests no curb on student numbers – or spouses.

Draft Bill on Reform of Parliamentary Privilege. (Ministry of Justice).

Likely to block MPs from using privilege as a defence for wrongdoing, for example over expenses.

Broadband Infrastructure – secondary legislation. (Business Innovation and Skills Dept).

This will support investment in new high-speed broadband internet connections.

High speed railway network (Dept for Transport).

A simple Bill to enable the network's construction. A route between London and Birmingham has already been announced – with plans to expand it to the north of England.

[edit on 5/23/2010 by UberL33t]

In reference to the policing:

Police must also publish monthly local crime data statistics. This is also likely to include a fresh crackdown on anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behavior? Do they mean protests?

Originally posted by UberL33t
"If it is right that details of the Queen's speech have been given to Sunday newspapers before it has been submitted to parliament, the new government will have to explain to parliament their apparent attitude of disregard," she said.

Can't they just use Obama's number 1 excuse and blame it on the previous government? I mean we had to give Obama 6 whole months before we could even mention anything about his policies here on ATS, and even now the MSM still blames the previous administration. Seems the Cameron government could do something along the same lines - after all, we don't ever hold our governments accountable for anything anymore.

Originally posted by UberL33t

Anti-social behavior? Do they mean protests?

The phrase is meant to describe things like teenage vandalism.
Or, if you're over 50, anything teenagers do.

The change in the welfare system is going to cause a surge in crime. But i guess we will have to wait see. Most of it looks like nonsense. Typical government crap.
I pray to god they dont privatise the NHS. As if paying the basics wasnt hard enough for many people.

reply to post by SearchLightsInc


Perhaps you could expand on why you think there will be a surge in crime in there are reforms to the welfare system? surely you can see that the welfare system needs reformed, I pass houses everyday on my way to work were i know their are people living there who could work and choose not to work.

I dont consider it to be wrong to say to someone if you can work and you are offered a job, but decline to take it you should loose your benefits, we all have to pull our wieght in this life and I have no time for slackers