Queen's Speech Unveils Government's Agenda

Economic recovery was at the centre of the Queen's speech, where she spoke of avoiding deficit and increasing the financial security of the people, while also including others themes like a house building drive, pensions reform and a commitment to reform the EU.

Eleven bills were included in the speech:

• A bill implementing reforms to annuities allowing people to draw their retirement income in one go if they choose

• A separate bill to allow employees to pay into collective pension funds shared with other workers

• A new state-funded childcare subsidy worth up to £2,000 a year, replacing the existing employer-funded scheme

• A bill offering extra legal protection for people being sued for negligence if they acted heroically or in the public interest

• Curbs on "excessive redundancy payments" for highly-paid public servants

• Tougher penalties for employers who fail to pay the minimum wage and a crackdown on the abuse of zero hours contracts

• Plans for a 5p charge for plastic bags in England

• A bill allowing fracking firms to run shale gas pipelines deep under private land without getting prior permission

• Tougher powers to seize the assets of crime bosses, tackle cyber crime and make possession of written paedophilia a criminal offence

• A Modern Slavery Bill with tougher penalties for human trafficking

• Help for pub landlords including a statutory code and a body to adjudicate disputes

• Giving voters the power to trigger by-elections where MPs have committed serious wrong-doing

(CVS)