Rt Hon Peter Hain MP - Leader of the Commons and Secretary of State for Wales

The Queen’s Speech last November produced 28 substantive bills and heralded a further 10 in draft. Critics levelled the charge that the Government were behaving like ‘legislative junkies’. But changing the law can change lives for the better. Government matters. And the way the legislative process is used can literally make the difference between hope and despair, opportunity or failure. No-one wants a ‘nanny State’ but many need a helping hand, and people want a government that is on their side, not on their back.

The current legislative session demonstrates the Government’s priorities of creating opportunity for those who would otherwise be denied it, but also recognising that security is an essential prerequisite to opportunity. To ensure opportunities later in life, young people need the best start in life. That is why the Education Bill underlines a commitment to raising standards in all schools by giving more autonomy to the front line. The Child Benefit Bill also extends opportunity by providing a financial boost to young people who are eager to learn, but not in an academic setting. And the Disability Discrimination Bill extends long overdue rights to disabled people, enhancing their opportunities.

To ensure security for all, the Government brought forward a series of measures, most importantly the Identity Cards Bill, and the Serious and Organised Crime Bill, both of which will play a crucial role in making Britain more secure. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill builds on the tough action we have already taken to tackle anti-social behaviour. This legislation is needed because these are problems that can drag whole communities down. And the Drugs Bill aims to help tackle the drugs menace that feeds crime and fractures communities.

Of course it would be foolish to pretend that every bill in a Queen’s Speech is the success trumpeted at the time. The Government has encouraged the draft scrutiny of bills for the first time to improve the quality of legislation. Perhaps it is now the time for some more formal post-legislative scrutiny as a check on the actual impact of new laws: whether they have worked as intended, whether there are unforeseen side effects and so on.

The Government’s legislative plans bring benefits; when it takes action on road safety, more lives are saved. Tackling religious discrimination, or unscrupulous lending, or drug pushing, as it has done in new legislation in this session, means that people’s lives can improve. Legislation is helping to increase opportunity and strengthen the security of all our citizens.