On 17 July 2024, the King set out the new UK Government’s legislative programme for this parliamentary session. The speech included commitments on a wide range of areas, such as planning, economic development and energy.
But how much of this applies to Wales?
Some of the proposed Bills relate to devolved areas, such as housing. Under the legislative consent (or Sewel) convention, the UK Parliament will not normally legislate on matters which have been devolved to Wales without the Senedd’s consent. In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of UK Bills making provision in devolved areas without the consent of the Senedd.
Other proposed Bills which will apply to Wales relate to areas reserved to the UK Parliament, such as border security.
Which Bills will apply to Wales?
The Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens MP, has identified 29 Bills which extend and apply to Wales, either in full or in part. This number does not include draft Bills.
She has committed to work with the Welsh Government to secure legislative consent for relevant Bills, and reaffirmed the UK Government's commitment to a new memorandum of understanding on the Sewel Convention.
Information and quotes below come from the King’s Speech background briefing document.
Arguing that the presence of hereditary peers is “outdated and indefensible”, the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill will remove the “right of the remaining hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords”.
Whilst not requiring legislation, the UK Government has committed to establish a new Council of the Nations and Regions, which will bring together the Prime Minister, heads of devolved governments and mayors of combined authorities in England. It is not yet clear whether this would sit alongside or replace the highest existing structure for intergovernmental relations.
To help address the “unacceptable defensive culture prevalent across too much of the public sector”, the Hillsborough Law will introduce a duty of candour for public servants.
To “harness the power of data for economic growth”, the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill will establish Digital Verification Services, develop a National Underground Asset Register, and set up Smart Data schemes.
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill aims to strengthen cyber defences and ensure more essential digital services are protected.
The Budget Responsibility Bill will ensure that future UK Governments “making significant and permanent tax and spending changes” are subject to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The National Wealth Fund Bill is “central to this Government’s mission to deliver growth and a greener economy”. It intends to help the UK Government make investments to support jobs, catalyse private sector investment and simplify the UK’s “fragmented landscape of support for businesses and investors”.
Through its Employment Rights Bill, the UK Government will introduce reforms such as banning zero-hour contracts, ending “fire and rehire” and “fire and replace” practices, making flexible working “the default from day one” and strengthening protection for new mothers. In addition, the UK Government will “deliver a genuine living wage that accounts for the cost of living”.
The Product Safety and Metrology Bill will “provide regulatory stability and deliver more protection for consumers”. The Bill aims to allow the UK to choose whether to “mirror or diverge from updated EU rules”, to maintain high product safety and support businesses and economic growth.
The Pension Schemes Bill aims to support people who save in private-sector pension schemes by taking a number of measures to help them to save more.
The Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill is designed to allow more effective responses to small bank failures “where resolution is judged to be in the public interest”, so that certain costs of managing their failure do not fall on taxpayers.
The Arbitration Bill enacts Law Commission recommendations to aim to “support more efficient dispute resolution, attract international legal business, and promote UK economic growth”.
Through its Great British Energy Bill, the UK Government will establish a new, publicly-owned energy production body, Great British Energy, which will “own, manage and operate clean power projects”.
Arguing that water companies are “failing to deliver for their customers and the environment”, the Water (Special Measures) Bill aims to strengthen regulation as a first step to “clean up our rivers, lakes and seas”.
The Crown Estate Bill will remove restrictions on the Crown Estate’s activities, give it powers to borrow, and widen its investment powers.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill will aim to encourage investment in the construction of sustainable aviation fuel plants.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce measures such as a progressive ban on the sale of tobacco products. It will also stop vapes and other nicotine products from “being deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children”. The Bill will extend UK-wide, although application of its measures will vary across the UK.
The Mental Health Bill will modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, to, for example, ensure that detention and treatment under the Act only occurs when necessary.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will launch a Border Security Command to “bring criminal people smugglers to justice”, as part of aims to have “secure and stronger borders”. It will also end the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.
Through its Crime and Policing Bill, the UK Government intends to halve serious violence such as knife crime and violence against women and girls, give more powers to police to “crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour” and ensure the highest standards within policing.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – also known as Martyn’s law - will require those “responsible for certain premises and events to take steps to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack and reduce harm in the event of a terrorist attack occurring”.
The Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill will introduce several measures, including strengthening the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner and requiring offenders to attend their sentencing hearings.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill intends to address the current “constraints” of the planning system, aiming to facilitate more housebuilding and infrastructure development. The majority of this Bill is expected to apply to Wales.
Through the Renters’ Rights Bill, the UK Government aims to “give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes”. This will include ending no fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession. The majority of this Bill will only apply in England.
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill will reform rail franchising and bring train operators in Britain into public ownership. The Secretary of State for Wales said that this will bring “greater certainty over the operation of publicly-owned Transport for Wales by confirming it can remain as the default operator of rail services across all of Wales”.
A separate Railways Bill will also contribute to reform of the railways, through, for example, establishing a new public body (Great British Rail) and simplifying ticketing.
Other Bills relevant to Wales in the King’s Speech are:
- The Football Governance Bill;
- The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill;
- The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill; and
- The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill.
The Speech also included the following Bills relevant to Wales that will be published in draft:
- The Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill;
- The Draft Conversion Practices Bill; and
- The Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
How has the Welsh Government responded?
The Welsh Government welcomed the UK Government’s “early and thoughtful engagement carried out ahead of the King’s Speech”. It added that, whilst its position remains that primary legislation in devolved areas should be passed by the Senedd, the Welsh Government believes there are “circumstances when it is sensible for provision, which is in the Senedd’s legislative competence, to be included in UK Parliamentary Bills, with the explicit consent of the Senedd”.
What happens next?
The UK Government has introduced several Bills to the UK Parliament. The timings and detail of the Bills will become clearer after the summer recess, as the legislative process progresses.
Article by Adam Cooke, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
