Factbox-UK government sets out priorities in Queen’s speech

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to reset his government on Tuesday with plans aimed at winning back traditional supporters in southern England who abandoned his party at recent local elections.

The speech for the first time was read by Prince Charles on behalf of his mother Queen Elizabeth, who pulled out of the event because of a recurrence of her mobility issues.

Ministers will set out 38 bills in a day of elaborate pageantry in Westminster, which is used to detail all the new legislation the government wants to enact in the coming year.

Below are some of the government’s main policy statements:

BREXIT FREEDOMS BILL

The government set out legislation to make it easier to remove or amend European Union regulations that were copied into the country’s law before it left the bloc at the end of 2020.

Under current rules, reforming and repealing the EU law would take several years. The government said this new legislation would speed up the process and help boost the economy by reducing bureaucratic rules.

BRITISH BILL OF RIGHTS

The government wants to overhaul Britain’s human rights legislation by giving domestic judges more flexibility in how they interpret rulings from a European court.

This will aim to make it easier for the government to deport foreign offenders and to stop litigation aimed at bodies delivering public services.

Dominic Raab, the justice minister, has said the changes would reinforce parliament’s role as the ultimate decision maker, and strengthen rights such as freedom of speech.

PUBLIC ORDER BILL

The government will seek to stop disruptive protests by allowing anyone who targets key national infrastructure such as airports, railways, and printing presses to be sentenced up to a year in jail.

This comes after environmental protesters have blocked roads and locked themselves to the buildings of banks and energy companies in recent years. The legislation will create new criminal offences to prevent people from locking on, and going equipped, to lock on to buildings or transport systems.

LEVELLING UP BILL

The government will pass legislation to force landlords in England to let shops left empty for a year and allow councils to take control of derelict buildings in a bid to rejuvenate high streets.

ECONOMIC CRIME BILL

Britain rushed through new legislation to target Russian President Vladimir Putin and to stop the flow of Russian cash into London following the invasion of Ukraine.

A second part of this legislation will issue new powers to check on people suspected of registering companies fraudulently, including enforcing mandatory identity verification and better checking of this data with other public and private bodies.

FINANCE BILL

Regulators will be required to help the City of London remain a globally competitive financial centre after being largely cut off from the European Union due to Brexit.

Restrictions on how big investors can buy and sell stocks will be lifted to attract more trading. There are also safeguards to ensure that people can still use and access cash despite the rapid rise in contactless electronic payments.

FOOTBALL REGULATOR

The government will establish an independent regulator to deal with the game’s finances, club ownership and corporate governance.

The regulator will ensure owners and stewards are “fit and proper” people to manage football clubs.

The new regulator would weaken the powers of the Premier League and other leagues and the Football Association to govern the game themselves.

FERRIES

The government will pass legislation to force ferry companies to pay staff the minimum wage on board ships.

This comes after P&O Ferries’ fired nearly 800 employees without notice in March in favour of cheaper staff, a move that has since prompted a criminal investigation

The bill would allow ports to sanction ferry operators who do not pay workers the equivalent of the minimum wage and to block their access.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, editing by Elizabeth Piper)