Summary 5

1 Background 8

1.1 Recent Queen’s Speeches and King’s Speeches 8

2 Bills that did not complete their passage during the 2024–26 session 10

2.1 Bills carried over from the previous session 10

2.2 Bills that did not complete their passage in the 2024–26 session 12

2.3 Draft bills published in the 2024–26 session 12

Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill 12

Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill 13

3 Bills announced but not yet introduced 14

3.1 Bills in the July 2024 King’s Speech that have not been introduced 14

National Wealth Fund Bill 14

3.2 Draft bills announced but not published 14

4 Bills that might be mentioned in the 2026 King’s Speech 16

4.1 Animal welfare and veterinary regulation 16

Vets’ fees and veterinary reform 16

A ban on trail hunting 16

A ban on the use of snare traps 17

Introducing a close season for hares 17

4.2 Asylum and human rights 17

4.3 Business, industry and finance 18

British Steel 18

Late payments 18

Financial services 19

4.4 Digital ID 19

4.5 Education 20

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform in England 20

4.6 Energy and utilities 21

Energy independence 21

Water reform 21

4.7 Health 22

4.8 Home affairs and justice 24

Civil justice 24

Criminal justice 24

State threats and terrorism 27

4.9 Housing 28

Cladding remediation 28

4.10 International affairs and trade 29

Implementing UK-EU agreements 29

4.11 Local government 30

Local government standards 30

Scrutiny of mayoral strategic authorities 30

Visitor levy 31

4.12 Parliament and government 31

Public procurement reform 31

Removal of peerages 32

4.13 Transport 33

Road safety 33

5 What happens during the State Opening and the King’s Speech? 34

5.1 The State Opening 34

5.2 The Speech 34

5.3 Debate on the King’s Speech 35

5.4 History of the State Opening 35

Appendix: List of contributors 36