King's speech 2024: What do charities need to know?

Today the King delivered his first King’s Speech for the new Labour government. It set out the draft laws (bills) the government plans to introduce over the parliamentary session, giving us a clearer idea of Labour’s priorities.

During the general election campaign, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would focus on ‘five missions’ while in power and many of the 40 bills announced today reflect these missions. For example, a bill was announced to reform planning to make it easier to build new homes and infrastructure, which should help the government meet its first mission of growing the economy.

The speech also set out many measures that could impact charities and voluntary organisations. Here’s our round-up of today’s key announcements as well as what the speech missed out.

Devolution

An English devolution bill will devolve more power to local communities. This covers:

• skills
• energy
• planning
• transport.

With new powers in the hands of metro mayors and combined authorities, it will be more important than ever for voluntary organisations to build strong relationships at a local level.

Mental Health Act reforms

The government is seeking to reform the Mental Health Act to make sure people have greater choice and autonomy, and are treated with dignity and respect. Organisations working with and alongside people accessing mental health support will be particularly interested in this.

The changes are intended to lead to fewer people being detained and to reduce racial disparities which see far more people from the global majority detained. Mental health charities have been campaigning for these reforms for a number of years.

Ban on conversion therapy

A new conversion practices bill will introduce a full ban on conversion therapies aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. LGBTQ+ and human rights charities will welcome this announcement as previous Conservative governments had committed to the ban in principle but failed to introduce the required legislation.

Plans to halve violence against women and girls

A crime and policing bill will include plans to halve violence against women and girls. The Labour manifesto provided an outline of the measures that will be brought in to achieve this.

These include specialist courts for rape cases, increased powers for police to deal with misogyny, and new rights and protections for whistleblowers. Charities supporting women and girls should stay updated on these plans.

Boost for net zero

A Great British energy Bill will create a publicly owned company to invest in renewable energy. Last week the government also ended the ban on onshore wind. These measures should help the UK meet its climate goals, which include the target to reduce carbon emissions by 68% by 2030.

Martyn’s law

A bill is being developed to strengthen security measures requirements around public venues to help prevent domestic terrorism. Many voluntary organisations have been involved in developing this law. This is to try and make sure any new security requirements are proportionate to the risks that apply to small volunteer-run venues (like community halls).

Tax relief for private schools

The government intend to remove the tax reliefs for private schools, which have charitable status and are currently exempt. This could have unintended consequences for educational institutions run by charities, including:

• special schools
• faith schools
• schools for disabled children.

Employment rights 

An employment rights bill was announced as part of Labour’s New Deal for Working People. It includes measures such as making parental leave and sick pay available from the first day of work. This could lead to voluntary organisations’ staff costs rising. There will also be changes to ‘zero-hour contracts’ that may affect some organisations.

Legislation will also be published to protect equal pay rights for people from the global majority and disabled people in law. This is a welcome change to ensure equality and equity. Any changes would likely be consulted on, and voluntary organisations should consider the potential impact on their finances and approach to pay.

Democratic change

A House of Lords reform bill looks to reform how the House of Lords functions, removing the rights of remaining hereditary peers to sit and vote. There was nothing on the expected plan to introduce a retirement age for all peers.

The government also promised to strengthen the integrity of elections and encourage wide participation in the democratic process but without saying how it would do this.

There has been speculation that measures could include automatic voter registration, as well as lowering the voting age to 16. Voluntary organisations which support young people or provide advice and guidance to voters will need to understand any changes and make the most of efforts to widen participation.

Removal of the two-child benefit limit

As widely expected, the speech didn’t include plans to remove the two-child limit on Universal Credit claims. The government hasn’t committed to removing the limit but many charities will nevertheless be disappointed that it wasn’t included in the speech.

The policy currently means families with more than two children lose out on £3,455 a year for every child over the limit, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Adult social care reform

The government announced very little on adult social care. The New Deal for Working People will include establishing a Fair Pay Agreement for carers working in the adult social care sector, but Labour manifesto promises like the National Care Service weren’t included.

Local authority finances

There was nothing in the speech about the poor state of local government finances. Last year a number of city councils were forced to issue section 114 notices, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

This led to cuts in funding to the voluntary sector as councils attempted to balance their budgets. Charities delivering public services on behalf of local authorities will be particularly concerned about whether the government plans to address this issue in the future.

Some of the proposed bills may not end up becoming law. Other bills not mentioned today may end up being tabled, but today’s speech makes clear what the Labour government’s political and legislative priorities are. Those bills that are amongst the highest priority will likely be tabled – and have their first readings – before the summer recess to get the ball rolling.

The House of Lords will debate the content of the speech over six days between 18 and 25 July. The different bills will then be debated by both Houses of Parliament before they can become actual laws.

There are a whole range of policies covered in this speech, and in the coming weeks and months, there will be plenty of opportunities to engage with the government about the details of these bills.

Many of these bills are ambitious and in areas of policy that have not been a priority for some time. This means that expertise from our sector will be vital to ensure that the final draft of the bills are fit for purpose.