Copyright House of Lords 2015 / Photography by Roger Harris.
1) Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill: Apprenticeships
There are proposals for creating 2 million jobs, and a further 3 million apprenticeships, while ministers will be required to report annually on their progress to parliament.
Sarah McMonagle, head of external affairs at the FMB, said: “We are pleased to see that the Full Employment and Welfare Bill will allow for fuller scrutiny of how the Government is performing against its ambitious target of creating three million apprenticeships over the next five years. As the construction industry accounts for around 7% of GDP, it means our sector should conceivably be delivering 210,000 of these apprenticeships – or 42,000 a year which is a big ask, especially given that we only achieved 16,000 apprenticeship starts in our sector in 2013/2014.”
2) Cities and Local government Devolution Bill
This paves the way for powers over housing, transport, planning and policing to be devolved to England’s cities as part of government plans for "a balanced economic recovery". Cities that want them will be able to have elected mayors.
Jon White, managing director, Turner & Townsend: "The case for devolved power – and the opportunities it will bring for regional businesses, jobs and skills – is compelling. But it does present big challenges too. The devolved authorities will have to build their capability quickly to deliver much bigger projects and demonstrate that they are providing value for money.
"It is only by demonstrating that their initial tranche of money is being spent wisely, efficiently and effectively that they will be able to unlock more funds.
"Despite its huge potential, devolution would be disastrous if it leads to a patchwork of piecemeal approaches. The devolved authorities must never lose sight of the bigger picture, and ensure that their plans fit in seamlessly to Britain’s national infrastructure."
3) National Insurance Bill/Finance Bill: Tax lock
A “five-year tax lock” will mean there will be no income tax, VAT or National Insurance rises in this Parliament.
John Hicks, UK head of government and public, AECOM, said: “A bold promise or hand cuffs around the Treasury, the five-year tax lock could easily narrow the options for producing the July budget if tax take doesn’t emerge with the strengthening economy. Either way, it provides a challenging dimension given the government’s commitment to reducing the deficit.”
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of policy, said: “We have called for property tax certainty, not a tax lock. Freezes on some taxes create uncertainties about others, which is why clarity on property tax will is urgent and will be essential in the Chancellor’s July Budget.”
4) Housing Bill: Right to Build
New measures aim to increase housing supply and diversify the housing sector by giving people better access to land with planning permission for them to self-build or commission a local builder.
Jason Orme, a spokesman for the National Custom and Self Build Association, said: “NaCSBA welcomes the announcement in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech about progressing the Right to Build, which enables people wanting to build their own home to request a building plot from their local authority. This is in effect the flesh on the bones of Richard Bacon’s Self build and Custom Housebuilding Bill (now Act) which was given Royal Assent in April.
“We anticipate the new Bill will provide much more detail on how the Right to Build will work in reality, drawing on the findings of the work carried out by the 11 vanguard local authorities already running the trials. If it works, it could be the first steps in creating the biggest revolution in the UK housing market in the past 60 years.”
Raymond Connor, chief executive, BuildStore, commented: "The continuation of the Right to Build in the Queen’s Sppech can only be a good thing for the construction industry as a whole. Self build by definition is demand-led and therefore Right to Build will enable more houses to be built which match people’s requirements. It is one of a series of measures aimed at increasing delivery and should be welcomed. As an added benefit, it will help rebuild the offsite manufacturing sector."
5) Housing Bill: Starter Homes
This aims to increase the supply of new Starter Homes, to be exclusively offered to young first-time buyers, at a 20 per cent discount below their open market value.
Eddie Tuttle, senior policy and public affairs manager at the CIOB, said: “Whilst the CIOB welcomes efforts to simplify the neighbourhood planning system and increase the supply of Starter Homes through the Housing Bill, it is vitally important that there is an added emphasis on building design and quality.
“Although an extension of Right to Buy may provide real hope to individuals wishing to secure a place on the property ladder, the issue for policy makers is the number of annual new-builds. Our figures suggest that 200,000 Starter Homes are needed annually – in order to meet rising demand.”
6) Housing Bill: Right to buy
The bill includes the controversial plan to extend the right-to-buy scheme to 1.3 million social housing tenants, who will be able to buy the homes they rent at a discount.
Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Housing, commented: “It would have a huge impact both on housing associations and on local authorities, as councils would have to sell off their most valuable homes to fund replacements.
“The government says each home sold would be replaced on a one-for-one basis – but we know this is not happening under the current scheme. Our research has shown that most local authorities only expect to be able to replace half or fewer of the homes they sell under right to buy. And government figures show that between April 2012 and last September councils started or acquired 2,298 homes using right to buy receipts – just one for every 11 sold.
“The government says that replacements for both housing association and council homes sold under the extended scheme would be built in the same area, but this will be heavily dependent on land availability and will therefore be extremely challenging in some inner city and also rural areas.”
7) Five year NHS funding commitment
The government will increase investment in the NHS by £8 billion a year to 2020 to allow it to implement its Five Year Forward View, where measures will include improving access to GP surgeries.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, commented: “It is important that government recognises that if access to GP services is to be increased, it is vital that the premises within which care is delivered are improved. The UK’s healthcare infrastructure badly needs updating, and there are a number of UK institutions who are poised to enter this sector. Government must harness this investment which will allow the property industry to help create a modern, fit-for-purpose healthcare system.”
The BPF says that there is already £5bn of UK institutional investment in the healthcare estate, with a further £3bn available, and a similar sum available from global insurers.
8) European Union Referendum Bill
This paves the way for a referendum the UK’s Britain’s membership of the EU. The prime minister has promised to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the 28 member states and put the revised relationship to a public vote by 2017, although possibly as early as autumn 2016.
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of policy, said: “2017 is too late for an EU referendum if the property sector is to maintain levels of inward investment.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “The prospect of an EU Referendum will bring a lot of uncertainty and, as we saw ahead of the Referendum in Scotland, this can cause a significant slowdown in investment activity, which could impact negatively on the built environment. We urge the government to provide clarity about its parameters and timetable as soon as possible to reduce this risk.”
9) Energy Bill: change in policy on onshore windfarms
This would remove the need for the Secretary of State’s consent for any large onshore wind farms (over 50MW), transferring responsibility to local planning authorities, and also end current subsidies to onshore wind farms.
The renewable energy industry is disappointed, arguing that the move will push up the costs of decarbonising the power sector as onshore wind is currently the cheapest form of renewable energy.
Maria McCaffery, chief executive of RenewableUK, told Business Green that subsidies for onshore wind added £10 to the average consumer bill last year. She said: "Singling out one of the most popular and lowest cost forms of energy technology for different treatment in the planning system sends a worrying message to investors across the energy sector."
10) Energy Bill: Missed opportunity on climate change
Apart from measures on wind farms, the other main policy is to establish an Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) with the aim of“maximising the economic recovery of offshore oil and gas reserves”.
Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive of the UKCG, commented: “The Queen’s Speech represents a missed opportunity for Government to set out how it can reduce emissions. Energy efficiency represents one of the most cost-effective means of reducing our emissions and contributes to the UK’s energy security, yet it remains on the Government’s blind side.”
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “The glaring omission from the Queen’s Speech is any substantial action on climate change”, she said, "if the Government is serious about playing a leading role in the climate talks in Paris later this year then it must do more than offer warm words on climate change. Minister must shelve plans for fracking and take action to invest in a renewable energy system fit for the 21st century.”
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