On Wednesday 17 July King Charles III delivered the 2024 King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament and announced draft laws which include plans to accelerate housebuilding and roll out ‘greater devolution’ of decision making to metro mayors and combined authorities in England. Here we take a look at some of the announcements in greater detail.
Giving renters ‘greater rights and protections’ by ending no-fault evictions
The government used the King’s Speech to announce an end to no-fault evictions. It stated that ‘too many people currently live with the threat of insecurity and injustice’ and introduced legislation ending no-fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession. The Renters’ Rights Bill will ‘give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities and avoid the risk of homelessness’.
Removing the VAT exemption for private school fees
Measures will be brought forward to remove the exemption from VAT for private school fees, which will enable the funding of six and a half thousand new teachers. The government intends to establish Skills England, which will put a new partnership with employers ‘at its heart’. The government also stated that it will reform the Apprenticeship Levy.
Establishing publicly owned Great British Energy
A new bill will establish Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company that the government hopes will ‘help boost energy security, create jobs and lower household bills for good’. It aims to establish the company by 2030.
The government will also introduce legislation to help unlock investment in energy infrastructure, support sustainable aviation fuel production and strengthen the water regulator’s powers.
Bringing train operators into public ownership
In the King’s Speech, the government announced that new legislation will be introduced to create a ‘simplified rail system’ by bringing rail services into public ownership once their contracts expire or if operators fail to deliver on their commitments.
The government stated that this approach will ‘avoid the burden falling on taxpayers to cough up for compensation to operators for taking services into public ownership’. It said that transferring operations into public ownership will save taxpayers millions currently paid out in fees to private operators.
Getting Britain building
Central to the new government’s plans to strengthen economic growth is getting the country building more housing and infrastructure. A new Bill will accelerate and streamline the planning process to build more homes of all tenures and speed up the delivery of major infrastructure projects. The government intends to remove the ‘major brakes’ on the planning system in order to support sustainable growth.
Anticipating change
The announcements made in the 2024 King’s Speech are designed to help ‘unlock growth’ and ‘take the brakes off Britian’. The government stated it intends to improve living standards for working people through economic growth. Only time will tell as to whether its measures achieve these aims.