There were 40 Bills listed in the King’s Speech this summer, and we know how hard it is during busy periods to find out what these developments could mean for you and your work in the VCSE sector. Therefore, we have created this article as a resource to help you get to grips with it and think about what this means for our local area too.
A noteable omission was the lack of any mention of the VCSE sector, and it would have been positive to see a direct reference to the role that we can play. However, we are hopeful that the new national government will be looking to engage with and bring in expertise from the VCSE sector, and there are certainly some early signs that suggest there could be opportunities here.
Moving onto getting into the bulk of the King's Speech, the 40 bills were presented under six different headings which reflect the missions of the Labour manifesto:
As you can imagine, we won't be diving into every single detail within this article - however, we will be highlighting the bills that will be most applicable to your work, as follows:
National Wealth Fund Bill
The National Wealth Fund is intended to enable investment to take place and mobilise additional private sector investment. The existing UK Infrastructure Bank and the British Business Bank will be aligned under the new fund. The intention is to generate £3 of private sector investment for every £1 invested by the fund. ‘The NWF will work with local partners, including mayors, to bring together a finance and investment offer that supports the needs of local areas and catalyses growth.’ The National Wealth Fund will have an initial £7.3Bn of capital. Investment will be targeted at priorities around climate change and physical infrastructure.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
The Bill is intended to lead to the building of more housing and simplify planning around major infrastructure developments, contributing to economic growth. The Bill includes provision to modernise planning committees, improve the capacity of local planning authorities and streamline the delivery processes for critical infrastructure.
Employment Rights Bill
Part of the Plan to Make Work Pay which will create a partnership between business, trade unions and working people, seen as a fundamental part of the growth mission. The Bill will deliver a New Deal for Working People which includes:
• banning exploitative zero hour contracts
• ending fire and rehire /fire and replace
• making parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from the first day of a job for all workers [probationary periods will still apply]
• strengthening statutory sick pay by removing the lower earnings limit and the three-day waiting period
• flexible working available from day one for all workers, with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable
• it will be unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work [except in specific (unspecified) circumstances]
• establishment of the Fair Work Agency to strengthen the enforcement of workplace rights
• establishing a fair pay agreement in the adult social care sector, and following a review assess how and to what extent such agreements could benefit other sectors
• reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body
• updating trade union legislation to remove unnecessary restrictions on activity, including the previous governments application of minimum service levels, and ensuring industrial relations are based around good faith negotiation and bargaining
• simplifying the process of statutory recognition and introduce a regulated route to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces.
The intention is to retain the flexibility of the labour market whilst protecting against less secure forms of work and extending protections for workers. These changes are very welcome and should reduce the precarity of employment contracts experienced by many workers. There will be implications for VCSE organisations employing staff, particularly if on zero hours contracts, and greater responsibilities for all employers around employment rights and flexible working.
English Devolution Bill
The Bill will establish a new standardised framework for English devolution that will give local leaders enhanced powers over:
• strategic planning
• local transport networks
• skills and employment support
• Local Growth Plans.
Devolution will be the default approach, areas will be given devolved powers where they meet governance conditions without the need to negotiate individual agreements. Local leaders will be able to negotiate additional powers within the framework.
Better Buses Bill
This Bill will enable local leaders to:
• take back franchising powers over buses currently only available to metro mayors
• allow public ownership of buses
• increase accountability of existing bus operators
• have more control over planning and funding for local bus services.
Crime and Policing Bill
The Bill will include:
• rebuilding neighbourhood policing
• improved police standards including powers to intervene in failing forces, national vetting standards and for procurement
• measures against antisocial behaviour including new Respect Orders for persistent adult offenders, powers to address antisocial use of off-road bikes
• create a duty for local partners to cooperate to tackle antisocial behaviour with an antisocial behaviour lead in every local authority area
• measures to address retail crime including the offence of assaulting a shop worker and low level shoplifting
• further restrictions on knives
• strengthening laws to prevent the exploitation of children for criminal purposes and create Young Futures prevention partnerships to bring together services to support at risk teenagers
• a stronger, specialist response to violence against women and girls including for domestic abuse, rape, other sexual offences and spiking.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
This is Martyn’s Law reintroduced from the last parliament, to strengthen the security of public events and venues. The Bill requires those responsible for certain premises and events to take steps to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack and reduce harm in the event of a terrorist attack occurring. The measures required vary according to the capacity of the premises or event. In the previous version of the Bill they applied to buildings with a capacity greater than 100 people for the standard tier, and greater than 800 people for the enhanced tier.
• smaller premises in the ‘standard tier’ will be required to notify the regulator of their premises and put in place reasonably practicable procedural measures to keep the public safe. Some measures could be as simple as educating staff on locking doors and evacuation procedures.
• the requirements for organisations at these smaller premises will be focused on simple, low-cost activities surrounding policies and procedures. Free short online training courses are already available to fulfil some of these requirements.
• those responsible for larger ‘enhanced tier’ premises and certain public events will be required to put in place counter terrorism measures that could be expected to reduce, so far as reasonably practicable, both the risk from an attack occurring at the premises or event as well as the risk of physical harm being caused if an attack was to occur.
ACRE has led the VCSE response to this Bill as it supports a large network of village halls.
Voscur will be supporting NAVCA's work with ACRE and others to ensure that the requirements are practical and achievable for smaller venues and community buildings whilst also protecting the public.
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
The Bill will remove barriers to opportunity for children and by:
• strengthening multi-agency child protection and safeguarding arrangements
• requiring free breakfast clubs in every primary school
• limiting the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit required
• requiring local authorities to have a register of children not in school and provide support to home educating parents
• requiring all schools to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning, by giving local authorities greater powers to help them deliver their functions on school admissions and ensure admissions decisions account for the needs for communities
Skills England Bill
The Bill creates Skills England which will bring together businesses, providers, unions Mayoral Combined Authorities and national government to deliver a highly trained workforce. The functions of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will transfer to Skills England. Through convening employers, unions, education and training providers, and experts Skills England will:
• identify national and local skills needs
• identify the training for which the Growth and Skills Levy will be available
• in short national and regional skills provision our meeting the needs of local areas
The creation of Skills England will obviously have implications for VCS organisations providing a wide range of pre-employment skills development and training. More information is required to understand whether there will be implications for volunteer involving organisations or wider policy on volunteering.
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
This Bill will be published in draft form only, for consultation during this parliamentary session. The Bill will aim to address inequalities for ethnic minority and disabled people by:
• enshrining in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minority and disabled people
• introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for larger employers with more than 250 employees
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
A draft Bill for consultation that will ban conversion practices that aim to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The intention is for the Bill to be trans-inclusive and prevent abusive practices and preserve the freedom LGBT+ people.
Mental Health Bill
The Bill is intended to move the balance of power from the system to the patient, putting service users at the centre of decisions about their own care. The Bill will amend the Mental Health Act 1983 to give people who are detained greater choice and autonomy, enhanced rights and support.
NAVCA have written to relevent ministers on the importance of good engagement with the VCSE sector on health, housing and communities in particular. At Voscur, we will be supporting NAVCA's work as well as the great work of similar national partners working to make positive change happen at a national level.
Finally, moving onto local government, you will have your chance to meet with the new leader of Bristol City Council Tony Dyer, as well as connecting up with other partners, at our VCSE Forum event on September 25th - link to find out more and register here: https://www.voscur.org/calendar/event/vcse-sector-forum