King Charles III Opens Parliament: a Maritime Summary

King Charles III presided over the State Opening of Parliament by outlining the Government’s legislative programme over the next twelve months. Two weeks after securing a large majority in the general election, the King’s Speech reiterated the Labour Party’s ambition for a ‘mission-led’ government, based on a new partnership with businesses and working people.

The King announced the introduction of legislation to deliver on the Labour Party’s immediate ‘first steps’ in its government programme. These included:

• a Budget Responsibility Bill to ensure that governments stick to spending rules and consult with the Office of Budget Responsibility prior to outlining fiscal measures;
• a Rail Reform Bill to reform rail franchising and establishing GB Railways to bring train operators into public ownership;
• a Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to set up a new Border Security Command to crack down on criminal gangs behind small boats crossings.

Among the forty bills announced in the King’s Speech, there are a few that concern the maritime engineering, scientific and technology industry and – more widely – the maritime sector as a whole.

The National Wealth Fund Bill will enshrine Labour’s commitment to make the UK a clean energy superpower by investing up to £7.3 billion of additional funding, which includes up to £1.8 billion in ports infrastructure.

The Great British Energy Bill will establish a publicly-owned clean energy body (i.e. GB Energy) to accelerate in renewable energy such as offshore wind, helping the UK achieve energy independence and unlocking private sector investment in the long term.

It is worth noting that the Government has pledged to introduce legislation to support the production of sustainable fuel in aviation through a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill, but it did not make a similar commitment for maritime.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will usher in extensive reforms to the planning and consenting process in order to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing across the country, pursuing sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and the development of new technologies.

The Skills England Bill will establish a new body (i.e. Skills England) with the remit to oversee a new partnership between employers, training providers and apprentices, along with reforming the apprenticeship levy.

The Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) has already reach out to Cabinet Ministers in the week after the general election to explain how the maritime engineering, scientific and technology industry can contribute to the Government’s mission to drive economic growth across the UK.

If SMI members are interested in learning more about the Government full legislative programme, they can write to SMI’s Policy and Research Manager – Giorgio Buttironi – at Giorgio.buttironi(at)maritimeindustries.org.

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