The government has set out its legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session in the Queen’s Speech.
Laying out what new laws will shape people’s lives over the next year, it contains 38 pieces of legislation.
For the first time in 59 years the Queen was forced to defer to her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince William to deliver the speech in Parliament.
Here Sky News takes a closer look at what is in the speech this year and how it could affect our lives.
This bill focuses mainly on protests. It creates a new criminal offence against people ‘locking-on’ to buildings, objects or other people and causing serious disruption to people’s lives, businesses and the emergency services.
Another offence makes it a crime to disrupt key infrastructure, including airports, railways and printing presses.
It also specifically makes it illegal to obstruct major transport works, such as HS2.
The police will have wider stop and search powers for protesters and a new Serious Disruption Prevention Orders will also help crackdown on what the government describes as a “selfish minority of protesters”.
This bill will overhaul current laws on espionage, including the Official Secrets Act.
It will create a new offence for state-backed sabotage, foreign interference, theft of trade secrets and assisting a foreign intelligence service.
A new US-style Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will require individuals to declare themselves as working for a foreign government or agency in the UK.
It will also stop convicted terrorists from using legal aid or civil damage payments to fund terrorism.
Economic crime and corporate transparency
This is aimed at cracking down on “kleptocrats, including [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s cronies, criminals and terrorists” who abuse the UK economy.
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It includes new identity verification requirements for people who manage, own and control companies and UK-registered entities so people cannot do so fraudulently.
Companies House will also be able to cross-check data with other public and private sector bodies to weed out criminal activity.
And there will be more powers to quickly seize and recover cryptocurrency assets, which are often used for ransomware.
This bill will “empower local leaders to regenerate their areas”, giving local mayors and council leaders the power to let out empty High Street retail buildings for residential use.
It will also see reforms to the planning system, give residents more say over changing street names, and make sure communities can benefit from alfresco dining in town and city centres.
