Westminster update: 40 bills announced in king's speech

One thing you need to do

Read our response to the king’s speech, which announced a number of bills relevant to the legal profession on issues such as crime and justice, immigration, employment and mental health.

What you need to know

1. King's Speech: 40 bills announced by new government

On Wednesday 17 July, King Charles took to the throne in the House of Lords to deliver the king’s speech, outlining the new UK government’s legislative plans.

In total, 40 pieces of legislation were announced as Labour looks to deliver on its promise of a “government of service”.

A number of bills were announced that will impact the justice system, as part of the government’s programme to "secure borders, crack down on anti-social behaviour and take back our streets".

The Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill seeks to reduce delays in the courts system by allowing associate orosecutors to work on appropriate cases, increasing the pool of legal staff to process cases.

Additionally, the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner will be strengthened to ensure the system is held to account where needs are not met.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill establishes the government’s Border Security Command and provides anti-terrorism powers to investigate and prosecute people smuggling gangs.

The Crime and Policing Bill seeks to build on the government’s goal of “taking back our streets” through the re-introduction of community and neighbourhood policing.

This increased police presence will be matched by a duty to cooperate with local partners to identify and tackle anti-social behaviour.

The bill also introduces stronger measures to tackle low-level shoplifting through a new retail crime offence.

Where persistent offenders are identified, powers under the bill will allow the courts to apply new ‘respect orders’.

The new Hillsborough Law follows through on the government’s manifesto commitment to ensure all those participating in public inquiries have access to legal aid where needed.

This is a welcome first step and signposts the government’s respect for legal aid, but we are keen to see action go much further so that all areas of legal aid are sufficiently funded.

A central announcement of the king’s speech is the implementation of the government’s plan to “make work pay”.

The new Employment Rights Bill abolishes ‘fire and rehire’ practices and zero-hour contracts, as well as making the right to parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one of employment.

The bill will also establish a Fair Working Agency to strengthen the enforcement of workplace rights.

The king made special mention of safeguarding against unregulated advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). However, this commitment did not see a specific bill to this end.

The government’s plans for AI seem to be split across two separate pieces of legislation, dealing primarily with data protection and regulation.

To ensure that the UK meets the skills demands of the future, the king announced the Skills England Bill, which establishes a new body to analyse and identify skills gaps and the training schemes necessary for the future.

The government plans to consult widely with external stakeholders to ensure programmes are well designed to meet regional needs.

Finally, the government pledged to bring a Renters’ Rights Bill to abolish section 21 “no fault” evictions and strengthen tenants’ rights.

The government will publish a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to consult on measures planned to strengthen leaseholders’ ability to enfranchise and take over management of their blocks, modernise the commonhold system, and address ground rents in existing leases.

We have identified the bills of relevance to solicitors and the wider legal profession.

We have begun engagements with political stakeholders to channel the views of our members and shape legislation.

2. Prison early releases: lord chancellor explains

In her first address to Parliament as lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood confirmed the details for the release of prisoners on Thursday 18 July.

The step is needed as prisons in the UK are fast approaching capacity and will run out of space by September.

In addition to previously announced measures that prisoners reaching 40% of their sentence would be released, Mahmood said that in the long term the prison building programme is being accelerated and later this year a 10-year prison capacity strategy will be published.

Mahmood acknowledged that the prison estate has been running at 99% capacity for the past 18 months and said Dowing Street had previously been occupied by “the guilty men” who had placed the country in “grave danger” through their mismanagement of the prison estate.

Responding for the Conservatives, shadow lord chancellor Ed Argar said that while in government they had taken the right decisions on sentencing and prison policy, launching the biggest prison building programme since the Victorian era.

Argar pressed the government to set out wider resources for the probation service and to ensure that domestic abuse offenders are not released under this scheme.

3. Lord chancellor sworn in as historic first

The lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, was sworn in on Monday 15 July in a historic day of firsts for our justice system.

Mahmood is the first female Muslim lord chancellor and became the first to swear their oath on the Qur'an.

The ceremony also marked the first time a lady chief justice has sworn in a female lord chancellor.

The day represented the progress the legal profession is making in better representing our society.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson spoke at the ceremony welcoming the historic day, while highlighting the expertise of our judiciary and the economic importance of the wider legal sector.

The attorney general, Richard Hermer KC, and solicitor general, Sarah Sackman, also took their oaths alongside the lord chancellor.

Coming up

We have identified a number of bills of relevance to solicitors and the wider legal profession.

We will be working closely with MPs and peers to influence a number of these bills:

• Arbitration Bill: the bill will have its second reading in the Lords, date to be announced

The following bills were announced during the King’s Speech but have not yet been laid before parliament:

• Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill
• Crime and Policing Bill
• Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
• Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
• Employment Rights Bill
• Hillsborough Law
• Mental Health Bill
• Renters Rights Bill
• Planning and Infrastructure Bill
• Product Safety and Metrology Bill
• Skills England Bill
• Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
• Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
• Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill