What the Queen’s Speech means for your business
Her Majesty the Queen has delivered her speech to both Houses of Parliament, setting out the Government’s legislative programme for this parliamentary session. It is a programme much-reduced due to the result of the general election on June 8th when the Conservative Party lost its working majority. Many proposed policies have been dropped as they were not likely to get the necessary support from other parties.
The measures dropped include manifesto commitments to open more grammar schools, cap energy prices, scrap free school meals and introduce a so-called ‘dementia tax’.
There are still some significant Bills in the pipeline, which will have major implications for UK businesses – some of them critical in the lead up to Brexit. They include the following.
- The Great Repeal Bill will repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and convert EU law into UK law, which may then be amended domestically at some point in the future.
- The Customs Bill will seek to establish a standalone customs, VAT and excise regimes when the UK leaves the EU.
- A new Trade Bill to set a legal framework for establishing international trade deals and protecting UK businesses from unfair competitive practices.
- An Immigration Bill to end the free movement of EU nationals and provide a mechanism for managing immigration from other parts of the world.
- Financial Guidance and Claims Bill which will establish a new statutory body and extend the powers of the Financial Conduct Authority.
- A new Data Protection Bill to ensure that the UK is fully harmonised with the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
Although the Government does have a majority with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, the Parliamentary arithmetic is so narrow that there can be no guarantees of getting any legislation passed. This makes for an uncertain future when it comes to planning ahead for many UK businesses.
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