The new Labour Government has set out its legislative agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session in the King’s Speech. Many of the 40 bills have already received widespread comment, but here we examine a number of them in more detail.

In pursuit of the Government’s central mission of growth, the ‘Budget Responsibility Bill’ will put the newly established National Wealth Fund – aimed as “simplifying the UK’s fragmented landscape of support for businesses and investors” – on a permanent statutory footing, creating “a single coherent offer for businesses and a compelling proposition for investors, to smartly deploy public capital to unlock investment opportunities”. Similarly, the ‘Planning and Infrastructure Bill’ aims to streamline the delivery process for critical infrastructure.

A new ‘Digital Information and Smart Data Bill’ will be introduced which, in the words of the Government, will “harness the power of data for economic growth” by establishing ‘Digital Verification Services’ to “support the creation and adoption of secure and trusted digital identity products and services from certified providers to help with things like moving house, pre-employment checks, and buying age restricted goods and services”. It will also establish a new National Underground Asset Register to “revolutionise the way we install, maintain, operate, and repair the pipes and cables buried beneath our feet”. In addition, Smart Data schemes will be set up, allowing the secure sharing of customer data upon their request “with authorised third-party providers (ATPs) who can enhance the customer data with broader, contextual ‘business’ data. As the Government explains, “these ATPs provide the customer with innovative services to improve decision making and engagement in a market”. A new ‘Cyber Security and Resilience Bill’ will also be introduced to strengthen defences and better protect essential digital services. For example, it will aim to expand the remit of regulations to protect more digital services and supply chains, put regulators on a strong footing to ensure essential cyber safety measures are being implemented, and mandate increased incident reporting.

The Government has also followed through in its promise to reform the world of work. We have previously commented on Labour’s manifesto commitments in this area here. In the background briefing notes for the King’s Speech, the Government confirms that the ‘Employment Rights Bill’ will, among other things: ban zero-hour contracts; end ‘fire and rehire’; and make parental leave, sick pay, protection from unfair dismissal and flexible working the default from day one for all workers. There will also be a ‘Equality (Race and Disability) Bill’ “enshrining in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people”, making it much easier for them to bring unequal pay claims, and introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for employers with over 250 employees. In addition, there are plans to train and improve the workforce through the ‘Skills England Bill’, and to improve corporate governance through the ‘Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill’ which will introduce a new regulator – the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority – charged with upholding standards, scrutinising companies’ accounts, and imposing accountability on company directors.

Finally, there are a number of bills that will pick up the work of the previous Parliament. The ‘Arbitration Bill’ will implement the recommendations made in the 2022 Law Commission review of arbitration law, including: codifying a duty on arbitrators to disclose circumstances that might give rise to justifiable doubts about their impartiality; strengthening arbitrator immunity against liability for resignations and applications for removal; and empowering arbitrators to make awards on a summary basis on issues that have no real prospect of success. Similarly, the ‘Football Governance Bill’ (which we discussed in its previous guise here) will introduce a new independent football regulator and establish a ‘Football Club Corporate Governance Code’.

To read the background briefing notes for the King’s Speech in full, click here.