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What’s in the King’s Speech: From Football to Leasehold Reform
(Bloomberg) -- King Charles III on Tuesday gave the UK’s first King’s Speech in more than 70 years, outlining the legislative agenda planned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the next parliamentary session. Below is a summary of the 21 bills and draft bills proposed by the Conservative government.
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Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill
The bill will introduce annual licensing rounds for UK offshore oil and gas, with the government saying the aim is to reduce reliance on imports. In order to allay environmental concerns, the government said a “key test” must be met that carbon emissions from the production of UK gas must be lower than that from imported liquefied natural gas.
Trade Bill
A bill to ensure the UK can meet its commitments under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade alliance the UK agreed to join earlier this year. It will give other countries party to the deal greater access to UK government procurement contracts and enhance regulatory cooperation between nations.
Automated Vehicles Bill
The legislation would establish a legal framework for self-driving cars, including setting in law the threshold for what constitutes a truly automated vehicle. Companies bear responsibility for automated vehicles, and human drivers for those that don’t meet the threshold.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
This bill will target consumer rip-offs by making it harder for traders to keep people in subscription contracts they no longer want, and consulting on so-called “drip pricing,” whereby websites add charges late on in the buying process. It will also clamp down on fake online reviews, and give the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to investigate anti-competitive activity and tighten the UK’s merger control regime.
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
Legislation to create a new UK data rights regime, which the government is selling as a benefit of Brexit because it would cut burdens on businesses compared to the European Union system. It will tackle nuisance calls and cookie pop-ups that appear on websites.
Media Bill
This bill will repeal a section of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 which could have forced publishers to pay the legal costs of people who sue them for libel, regardless of the outcome of the case. The measure was strongly opposed by newspapers who saw it as an attack on the freedom of the press.
Arbitration Bill
Legislation that aims to expedite the dispute resolution process, add protections for arbitrators, and ensure third parties brought in to resolve disagreements disclose interests that might raise questions about their impartiality. It is part of the government’s efforts to reduce courts backlogs.
Draft Rail Reform Bill
The bill aims to combine duties previously split between the Transport Secretary and Network Rail under a single body called Great British Railways. The new body will manage the rail network as well as the commissioning of passenger services, and also aims to simplify fares and ticketing.
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
The bill’s core provision is that children born after Jan. 1, 2009 will never be able to be sold cigarettes legally in the UK – effectively raising the legal age of purchase by one year, every year. Ministers are also looking to crack down on youth vaping with rules to reduce the appeal and availability of the products to children.
Leasehold and Freehold Bill
This bill will make it cheaper and easier for leasehold property owners to extend their lease and buy their freehold. Though it bans the creation of new leasehold houses, it stops short of extending that to apartments.
Renters (Reform) Bill
The legislation bans no-fault evictions, while strengthening landlord protections in cases such as non-payment, anti-social tenants and when they wish to sell a property.
Football Governance Bill
Establishes a regulator to protect smaller clubs from financial ruin and give their supporters more decision-making powers. An independent body will oversee the English Premier League and lower divisions, requiring teams to seek fan approval for major changes including the sale of a stadium. It will also prevent clubs from joining breakaway leagues.
Pedicabs (London) Bill
This bill will tackle the unregulated “tuk tuk” style auto rickshaws that have become increasingly common in London. Powers will be granted to Transport for London to introduce a licensing regime for pedicabs, including fare controls to prevent tourists from being ripped off, as well as criminal record checks for drivers.
Holocaust Memorial Bill
Will provide public money for a national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to be built near the Houses of Parliament. The government says the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the recent rise in anti-Semitism reported in Britain serve as a reminder that the Holocaust must not be forgotten.
Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill
Bans the export of live cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for fattening and slaughter. The government has couched the ban as something Britain can do because it is “taking advantage of Brexit freedoms.”
Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
Will ban public bodies from taking their own political stance on foreign affairs. Ministers argue boycotts disproportionately target Israel, with supermarkets banning kosher food and student unions barring Jewish groups.
Sentencing Bill
Changes sentencing so dangerous offenders will face harsher penalties. Lower-level crimes that carry a twelve-month jail term will now be automatically suspended, meaning the offender won’t face prison. Prisons will also be allowed to release some less serious offenders on probation early.
Criminal Justice Bill
Terrorists and sexual offenders will be subject to lie-detector tests to see if they pose a risk to the community, and certain police powers will be beefed up to help them dismantle organized crime groups.
Other provisions include banning the sharing of intimate images without consent, tackling organized begging, expanding drug testing on arrest and compelling defendants to attend their sentencing hearings.
Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill
Will give the UK’s intelligence agencies access to wider data. The government will place more requirements on telecommunications operators to assist with national security and law enforcement on encrypted platforms.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
Will require large venues such as Wembley Stadium and the O2 arena with a capacity of 800 or more — to take “reasonably practicable” measures to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack, or face fines of £18 million ($22 million) or 5% of worldwide revenue. Smaller venues will also be regulated.
Victims and Prisoners Bill
Aims to increase the confidence of victims in the criminal justice system. Ministers will have greater oversight over the release of dangerous offenders and will also ban prisoners who have been convicted of the most serious offenses from marrying in jail.
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