In Parliament

Queen's Speech 2007 06 November 2007

Key elements of the Queen's Speech

Responding to the rising aspirations of the British people

Jessica Morden MP for Newport East today welcomed the contents of the Queen's Speech and the legislative programme outlined which will be brought forward over the coming months.

Commenting on the speech Jessica said "I welcome the governments continued drive to ensure security for all and meet our aspirations for better education, housing, healthcare and children's services, and for a cleaner environment. This programme for Government builds on the last ten years and sets a new direction to entrust more power to Parliament and the people."

The Queen's Speech 2007 sets out the Government's programme to provide the best chances for people to make the most of themselves and their potential: a Britain where people can rise as far as their talents will take them and where all the talents of each individual can contribute to the wellbeing of all; a Britain that realises all of the talents of all the people.

Through this legislative programme, the Government will set out measures to support all parents with children and not just some; to support all those who want to get a foot on the housing ladder and not just some; and to support all those who want personalised healthcare free at the point of use for all and not just some.

The priorities of Britain's hard-working families who play by the rules are the priorities of the Government. We know that those concerns are:

Education;
The NHS;
Security;
Affordable housing;
Better balance between work and family life;
A strong economy;

- and these will be the Government's priorities, as set out in the Queen's Speech 2007.

This Queen's Speech further strengthens Parliament and makes Government more accountable to the people, where all voices are heard to shape the country for our future generations; strengthens measures to provide security against the threat of terrorism; and strengthens the action we are taking to deal with the long-term challenges of energy, climate change and pensions.

So on education, housing, the National Health Service, climate change, security, energy and pensions, the central purpose of the legislative programme is to make the right long-term changes for the future of our country:

  • change to help put affordable housing within the reach of the many and not just the few.
    • A Housing and Regeneration Bill to support the delivery of the three million new homes needed by 2020 to meet the growing demand and rising aspirations.
    • Bringing land and housing together through a new Homes and Communities Agency. The Agency will support the regeneration and delivery of new social and affordable housing and will make better use of surplus public sector land
    • The Bill puts in place the measures to open the way to establishing new settlements like eco-towns.
  • change to extend educational opportunity to all our young people to ensure that young people stay in education or training until age 18, including new measures to extend apprenticeship opportunities;
    • Raising the participation age for young people in post-16 learning in order for them to achieve higher levels of skills and qualifications.
    • Placing duties on not just young people but on parents to assist their children to learn and on employers to release young people in order to participate in learning.
    • And to increase adult participation and achievement in economically valued skills - to have world class skills by 2020.
  • change so that the NHS becomes more focused around the needs of the individual patient, building on the success of reduced waiting;
    • A Bill to establish a new integrated health and adult social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission - to assure the safety and quality of care.
    • Giving the new regulator tougher powers to inspect, investigate and intervene if hospitals fail to meet hygiene standards and introducing a comprehensive set of public health measures to help prevent and control the spread of serious infectious diseases and contamination.
    • To introduce extended financial support to pregnant women from the 29th week of their pregnancy.
  • change to help all children get the best possible start in life with measures to improve services for vulnerable children; and improve youth and community facilities;
    • Reforming the statutory framework for the care system - to ensure that children and young people receive high quality care and support.
    • Increasing the focus on the transparency and quality of care planning and ensuring that the child's voice is heard when decisions are made that affect their future.
    • Increasing schools' capacity to address the needs of children in care and improving the quality and stability of placements for children in care.
  • change to protect the environment;
    • Making the UK the first country to have legally binding CO2 reduction targets - of at least 60% by 2050.
    • Introducing a new system of 5-year carbon budgets
    • And independent scrutiny and advice through the new independent Committee on Climate Change, to advise the Government on the optimum trajectory to the 2050 target.
  • change to the way we do politics with more power being shared across our society, not concentrated in Westminster;
    • Reinvigorating our democracy, with people proud to participate in decision-making at every level
    • Giving Parliament more ability to hold Government to account through the formalisation of Parliament's role in ratifying treaties and through pre-appointment hearings for certain public appointments, amongst other measures.
    • Placing the Civil Service on a statutory footing.
  • and alongside measures to meet rising aspirations, change to build stronger communities, tackle crime and terrorism.
    • Promoting community cohesion and supporting local authorites to prevent and manage community tensions.
    • Targeting probation and prison resources at repeat, serious and violent offenders
    • Following consultation, allowing more sucessful prosecutions against terrorism suspects by introducing post-charge questioning
    • Improving public protection by strengthening arrangements for monitoring terrorists after their release from prison

These are some of the measures in this comprehensive programme for change that will continue to be built on the foundation of a strong and stable economy, with low inflation, sound public finances, high levels of employment, and interest rates kept low. They are rooted in a commitment to fairness and respond to the concerns of communities across the country. And as a result of the changes we are making:

  • To ensure all our young people have the skills they need to compete in the global marketplace, we will legislate for the first time in over 30 years to raise the education leaving age, benefiting two million teenagers a year;
  • To give adults a second chance to acquire skills, we will legislate to enable 5 and a half million adults, by 2020, to gain the skills they need to thrive throughout their working life;
  • So that homeownership can become a reality for millions more people, we will legislate to help make more land available more quickly;
  • To ensure that all employers meet their obligations to their workforce, we will legislate to guarantee employees a pension contributed to by their employer.

These are the real priorities of the British people. They are the priorities that the Government will address through this comprehensive programme of change.