Our response to the Bills proposed in Queens Speech

4.11.00pm GMT Sat 21st Nov 2009

Fiscal Responsibility Bill: This Bill would enshrine in law a Government commitment to halve the UK's budget deficit over four years.

This is the worst type of political posturing; the real issue about the deficit is that the Government refuses to say what spending it will cut and what taxes it will raise to meet it own target to reduce the deficit. Passing a law over halving the structural deficit in four years is a cynical distraction which will do nothing to increase market confidence in the Government.

Financial Services Bill: Promoting stability, efficiency and competition in financial markets, taking action to reduce the frequency and impact of systemic financial crises and promoting efficiency and competition.

The FSA already has massive powers which it does not use, legislation so that the FSA can veto pay agreements which promote systemic risk is unnecessary and likely unworkable, this could be much better done within the FSA's existing powers. There is no way a more complex financial services bill will make it into law before the Prime Minister is forced to call an election.

Personal Care at Home Bill: Free personal care for the 280,000 people with the "highest needs". Protects the savings of the 166,000 people who currently get free care. People needing to enter care homes for the first time get help to "regain their independence".

Gordon Brown's plans for free long-term care seem to have been written on the back of a fag packet. The Prime Minister's initial plan to help 350,000 older people has already been downgraded and we still haven't been told how he intends to pay for it all. Hundreds of thousands of older people have been forced to sell their homes over the last decade, yet ministers have failed to commit to legislation that would put an end to this. The sad truth is that both Labour and the Tories are playing political football with long-term care rather than offering people the serious solutions we need.

Children, Schools and Families Bill: Local Authorities will have to survey parents' views of the education system and act where they are unhappy. The Bill will also give a legal entitlement of one-to-one tuition to some of those pupils who are struggling.

This is the 12th Education Bill in as many years and fails to address the real problems in our education system. Instead of taking action to cut class sizes and reform the unfair funding this Bill will further centralise our schools system and place even more bureaucracy on headteachers. The idea of giving legal guarantees to parents could mean that schools face an avalanche of litigation, but does nothing to actually raise standards.

Crime and Security Bill: will require parenting assessment to be carried out on parents of children aged 10 to 15 who are considered for an antisocial behaviour order. DNA proposals include removing all profiles of adults arrested but not charged/convicted after six years. Juveniles three to six years. Terrorist suspects indefinitely.

The DNA proposals are completely unacceptable. They have already had to be withdrawn once (in this year's bill) after defeat in the Lords. This Govt does not understand the difference between innocence and guilt. We believe that all innocent people should be removed from the DNA database immediately. Making parenting orders contingent upon breach/issue of an ASBO is nonsensical. They are valuable because they are quick, whereas ASBOs have proven to be ineffective and expensive.

Bribery Bill: Will bring the UK into line with international anti-bribery rules; will make it an offence to attempt to bribe foreign officials.

This legislation is long overdue. It would have prevented the outrageous decision to halt the Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of corruption in BAE arms sales.

Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill: Will ban the use, development, production, acquisition, retention, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions in the UK and by UK armed forces.

The Government was right to sign up to the international ban on cluster munitions, but we are not convinced it requires legislation to enforce the new rules.

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill: Ends the by-election of hereditary peers to sit in House of Lords. Provides for disqualification of peers convicted of serious offences or subject to a bankruptcy order. Allows peers to resign peerages.

This does not address any of the big questions of our time. There is nothing in this Bill about electoral reform or reform of the Commons. When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister he called for a proper debate about constitutional reform. He has failed to hold that debate and this weak Bill is a wasted opportunity for real reform.

Energy Bill: Introducing a financial incentive, funded by electricity suppliers, to support up to four Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects.

Wholesale energy prices have decreased and remain low, so energy firms across the board should be making investments for the future, not just looking to make a profit for their shareholders. We are concerned by a lack of measures to increase energy efficiency and a reluctance to introduce new emissions performance standards or specific legislative details for CCS.

Flood and Water Management Bill: Reducing the risk of disruption to the economy that flooding and drought can cause.

This Bill is too little, too late. The Government has left out badly needed protection for people affected by flooding, such as planning measures to give local councils the power to stop building on flood plains. Processes are also needed to give a fair deal for those threatened by floods and coastal erosion both in terms of insurance and, when all else fails, compensation. With severe floods likely to become more common due to climate change, we need a real strategy to protect high-risk areas.

Digital Economy Bill: A Universal Service Commitment on broadband of a speed of at least 2Mbit/s; commissioning bodies for publicly funded regional news consortia; illegal filesharing; changes to ratings for video games.

Much of the Bill is concerned with setting the appropriate frameworks for future investment and regulation and as such we are reasonably supportive. However, we are concerned by some of the policies behind the Bill - principally the proposals to top-slice the Licence Fee to pay for regional news consortia and the proposed system for combating illegal file sharing.

Equality Bill: Gives the whole public sector a duty to "narrow the gap between rich and poor". Bans age discrimination outside the workplace.

This was literally a once in a lifetime chance to make a step change in women's lives - but instead of taking the opportunity Labour have run scared of anyone who says "boo", condemning women to hideously unequal pay for another generation. A small bit of good crept through on women's pay - stopping employers from banning staff from talking about their pay - but that only frees up the hardiest and doughtiest of campaigners to fight that little bit more for more equal pay.

Child Poverty Bill: Puts into law the government's commitment to end child poverty by 2020.

If Labour can't even meet its short-term child poverty targets in a period of relative prosperity, why should we believe that they will meet their 2020 targets when times are tough? For this Bill to have any credibility, there needs to be commitment from all Government departments to end the scourge of child poverty. We need to urgently reform the grossly unfair tax system, build thousands of new social homes and provide free child care for struggling families.