Every bill announced in today’s King’s Speech

King Charles has just finished taking part in the state opening of parliament for the first time as monarch. The purpose of today’s King’s Speech was to set out the government’s priorities for the coming parliamentary session, which will be the final one before the next general election. This was Sunak’s chance to draw political dividing lines with Labour, but there were few surprises. It was the longest statement read out by a monarch since 2005 but contained the fewest bills since 2014.

Below is a rundown of the 21 planned bills announced today.

Criminal Justice Bill

This bill will force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, following the Lucy Letby case. Police will be permitted to enter a premises without a warrant to seize stolen goods where they have ‘reasonable proof’ they are in the property. They will also be given powers to tackle ‘persistent, nuisance and organised begging’ under legislation to replace the repealed Vagrancy Act.