Queen’s Speech: Government aims to help businesses and families

A PROGRAMME of cutting red tape and supporting families has been unveiled today in the Queen’s Speech as the government’s blueprint for getting Britain working again.

Queen’s Speech: Government aims to help businesses and families

At the heart of the Queen’s Speech was a Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill aimed at boosting growth by stripping away red tape and making it easier for businesses to get rid of employees.

A Children and Families Bill will allow parents more flexible working and greater paternity leave for fathers after their partner has given birth.

Queen's Speech: Lords reform and parental leave top coalition plans

But the second chapter of the coalition’s programme of government also involves major constitutional change with reform of the House of Lords threatening to bring months of infighting between the two coalition parties.

There was also historic legislation to change the rules to accession to the throne allowing a female heir if she is the eldest child of the reigning monarch.

A PROGRAMME of cutting red tape and supporting families has been unveiled today in the Queen’s Speech as the government’s blueprint for getting Britain working again.

Queen's Speech to mark political fightback for Tories

At the heart of the Queen’s Speech was a Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill aimed at boosting growth by stripping away red tape and making it easier for businesses to get rid of employees.

A Children and Families Bill will allow parents more flexible working and greater paternity leave for fathers after their partner has given birth.

But the second chapter of the coalition’s programme of government also involves major constitutional change with reform of the House of Lords threatening to bring months of infighting between the two coalition parties.

Add captionQueen's speech will hold little hope for squeezed Britain

There was also historic legislation to change the rules to accession to the throne allowing a female heir if she is the eldest child of the reigning monarch.

There threatens to be a storm over an EU Bill which will trigger demands from the Tory right for a referendum even though it allows the UK to give up its responsibilities in helping to bail out the euro.

The coalition also set out plans to reform the banks to prevent another crash as happened in 2008, protect depositors money and ring fence domestic banking from casino banking.

And there will be the biggest changes to pensions since David Lloyd George introduced the state pension before the First World War. A Pensions Bill will raise the retirement age to 67 and simplify payments bringing in a flat rate of £140 a week.

Meanwhile a Public Services Pension Bill will dramatically change the entitlements of state sector employees who will have to pay more although Holyrood will be allowed to ignore the new rules.

In a joint statement Tory Prime Minister David Cameron and Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “The primary task of the government remains that we deal with the deficit and stretch every sinew to return growth to the economy - providing jobs and opportunities to hard working people across Britain who want to get on.”

Key points of the Queen’s Speech:

• Creation of a mainly elected Lords, to bring democratic legitimacy

• Plans for a radical reform of the banking sector to prevent future bailouts

• No commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid

• More power in decisions on support for elderly and disabled adults receiving care

• Creation of a US-style National Crime Agency to tackle serious and organised crime and protect borders

• Legislation to make drug-driving a specific offence

• An overhaul of electricity market to drive investment in low carbon power

• Fathers to have additional rights to see children after break-up or divorce

• Plans to speed up adoption and care proceedings and more support to disabled children

• Controversial reforms of public sector pensions

• State pension system to be reformed and simplified

• Plans to enable courts to sit behind closed doors when considering issues of national security

• Powers to monitor emails and internet communications

• New watchdog to ensure supermarkets deal fairly and lawfully with their suppliers

• Voters to be required to register individually under plans to modernise electoral system

There threatens to be a storm over an EU Bill which will trigger demands from the Tory right for a referendum even though it allows the UK to give up its responsibilities in helping to bail out the euro.

The coalition also set out plans to reform the banks to prevent another crash as happened in 2008, protect depositors money and ring fence domestic banking from casino banking.

And there will be the biggest changes to pensions since David Lloyd George introduced the state pension before the First World War. A Pensions Bill will raise the retirement age to 67 and simplify payments bringing in a flat rate of £140 a week.

Meanwhile a Public Services Pension Bill will dramatically change the entitlements of state sector employees who will have to pay more although Holyrood will be allowed to ignore the new rules.

In a joint statement Tory Prime Minister David Cameron and Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “The primary task of the government remains that we deal with the deficit and stretch every sinew to return growth to the economy - providing jobs and opportunities to hard working people across Britain who want to get on.”

Key points of the Queen’s Speech:

• Creation of a mainly elected Lords, to bring democratic legitimacy

• Plans for a radical reform of the banking sector to prevent future bailouts

• No commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid

• More power in decisions on support for elderly and disabled adults receiving care

• Creation of a US-style National Crime Agency to tackle serious and organised crime and protect borders

• Legislation to make drug-driving a specific offence

• An overhaul of electricity market to drive investment in low carbon power

• Fathers to have additional rights to see children after break-up or divorce

• Plans to speed up adoption and care proceedings and more support to disabled children

• Controversial reforms of public sector pensions

• State pension system to be reformed and simplified

• Plans to enable courts to sit behind closed doors when considering issues of national security

• Powers to monitor emails and internet communications

• New watchdog to ensure supermarkets deal fairly and lawfully with their suppliers

• Voters to be required to register individually under plans to modernise electoral system