The Queen’s Speech – planning reforms and moves to net zero emissions

In a speech in the House of Lords, Her Majesty The Queen highlighted 30 laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year. (This includes a number of bills carried over from the previous “session” of Parliament, which ended in April.)

• A long-awaited Planning Bill will introduce changes to the planning system in England, including a controversial zoning system.
• A Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will extend 5G mobile coverage and introduce new safety standards for digital devices.
• Another post-Brexit piece of legislation, the Procurement Bill, will replace EU rules on how the government buys services from the private sector.
• Tax breaks for employers based in eight freeports to be set up in England later this year will be included in a National Insurance Contributions Bill.
• The Environment Bill will ‘put the environment at the centre of policy making’ – confirming their commitment to combating climate change and the net zero.

Read the Government’s briefing paper here.