National Policy Forum - Your Southeast CLP representatives

Draft Queen's Speech June 2009

The Prime Minister announced details of 10 bills that will be announced in the Queen's Speech this autumn, for consultation.

Health

Patients will be given more enforceable rights to have prompt treatment and improve standards of care:

• hospital treatments for cancer patients will happen within 18 weeks
• access to a cancer specialist within 2 weeks
• free health checks for people over 40 (a policy that came as a result of submissions from SE parties)
• more work to give people the right to die at home
• individual budgets for patients to buy their own care
• guaranteed evening and weekend access to GPs

Social Housing

An extra £1.2bn this year to build new social housing, with a further extra £1.5bn in the following two years.
Councils will have new rules for allocating social housing to let local authorities give priority to local people.

Unemployment

Everyone under 25 and out of work for more than a year will have to accept a job or training, or have their benefits cut.

Education

Education tailored to a child's need will be guaranteed, including one-to-one academic tuition or online reporting.Good headteachers will be asked to run chains or federations of schools.

Law and order

New laws affecting parents of children involved in anti-social behaviour. Age ratings for video games. Powers to take retrospective DNA samples for cold cases. Licensing ofr wheel clampers.

Cluster munitions

Prohibtion of the use or production of cluster munitions.

Transport

A rail electrification programme, active transport strategy to encourage walking and cycling, and incentives for using green buses

Venture capital

To make up for shortfalls in the availability of funding for new businesses, a UK Innovation Fund has been founded to help the growth of hi-tech and green businesses

Constitution

Removal of remaining hereditary peers in the Lords and a democratically constituted second chamber.