Queen's Speech 2015
The first Queen’s Speech of the new Parliament announced a number of proposed Bills relevant to Members’ interests. The Government’s full proposed legislative agenda can be read here. Below is a brief overview of the relevant proposed legislation.

Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill
The Bill touches on a range of work-related issues, mainly around welfare and benefit payments. However, also included will be a statutory duty for the Government to report annually on progress to meet the target of 3 million new apprenticeships - including trebling the number in food, farming and agri-tech - which was proposed in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. It will also include new plans for Jobcentre Plus advisers to provide careers advice in schools, and the Youth Allowance scheme for 18-21 year olds under which young people will be required to take on an apprenticeship, training or community work placement within six months of unemployment.

The manifesto claimed that 2.2 million new apprenticeships have been created over the last five years. Despite this there has been almost a complete absence in science, with only 140 science and mathematics apprenticeship completions in England compared to 37,240 in engineering and manufacturing in 2013/14. The Science Council’s recent briefing on apprenticeships provides more detail on its current views and reflections on the status of science apprenticeships and their position within the wider skills agenda.

Childcare Bill
The Government’s manifesto committed to providing families where all parents are working an entitlement to 30 hours a week of free childcare for three- and four-year olds for 38 weeks of the year.

Lord Davis’s report, Women on Boards identified a number of factors preventing women reaching senior positions, including a lack of flexible working and difficulty in reaching an acceptable work-life balance within a long-hours culture. Many of these factors will also be present in the science workforce. There remains much to be done to ensure that science employers facilitate career breaks for women and support returners and increase the ability of both men and women in the STEM workforce to progress their careers alongside family responsibilities.

The Science Council is committed to working towards a science workforce that reflects the diversity of society, and its Diversity, Equality and Inclusion programme aims to support this work. For information about the programme contact Nicola Hannam.

Education and Adoption Bill
This proposes to strengthen powers to intervene in failing maintained schools and covert them to academies. Regional Schools Commissioners will be given powers to bring in leadership support from other excellent schools and heads.

Enterprise Bill
An extension of the Coalition Government’s Red Tape Challenge, designed to “reward entrepreneurship, generate jobs and higher wages for all”. Aimed at making it easier for businesses to recruit, to trade and resolve disputes.

The Coalition Government established Local Enterprise Partnerships and Enterprise Zones as means of supporting local and regional business growth. The Science Council has previously said that Local Enterprise Partnerships have the potential to play a key role in developing visionary and appropriate science, innovation and skills strategies at both the regional and local level. The Science Council has also recommended that Regional Investment Banks could help leverage private investment and provide support to SMEs, high-tech companies and start-ups across the country.

Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill
This is aimed at achieving the Government’s commitment to greater devolution of financial and policy-making powers across England to boost local growth, including directly elected Mayors.

One of the key aims of the last Government was to ‘rebalance the economy’ both sectorally and geographically. Late on in the last Parliament, George Osborne announced the idea of a Northern Powerhouse, fuelled in part by science and innovation. To signify further intent in this Parliament the Prime Minister has appointed James Wharton MP as Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse.

Immigration Bill
The aim is to reduce the number of those working illegally in the UK and stopping businesses employing illegal immigrants with the creation of a new enforcement agency. Even for legal workers, British employment agencies will not be allowed to recruit solely from abroad without advertising those jobs in Britain and in English. It also includes a proposed consultation on funding apprenticeship schemes for British and EU workers by implementing a new visa levy on businesses that use foreign labour.

The Science Council has consistently echoed the community’s concern that recent immigration policies and announcements from Government have destabilised the UK’s existing competitive advantage as a world-leader in science and innovation activities. The UK needs a measured and balanced approach to immigration and Government must work as hard to attract highly skilled people as it does to tackling illegal immigration.

European Union Referendum Bill
The Bill establishes the legislation for the Government to deliver on its pledge to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union before the end of 2017.

UK science benefits from the UK’s existing relationship with Europe, both in terms of direct research funding and EU funding streams, and through collaborative partnerships with its European counterparts. It is the Science Council’s view that the capacity of the EU to foster cooperation and collaboration between Member States has led to a wide range of positive initiative across many areas of science and research.

Scotland Bill
The Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Smith Commission to give the Scottish Parliament new powers over welfare, health and social care.

Wales Bill
The Government is also committed to devolving further powers to the Welsh Government, primarily on its name, size and electoral system. The Government will also implement recommendations from the Silk Report.

Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill
Aimed at supporting public trust and confidence in the effective regulation of charities, the Bill will make it easier for the Charities Commission to take action against individuals and charities misconduct. It will also make it clearer that charities should invest funds to achieve both a financial and social return.

New Parliament: Ministerial Appointments
The Prime Minister has appointed his first Cabinet and Ministerial team of the new Parliament. There is a certain degree of continuity in these appointments, particularly in the Department for Education, with several Conservative Ministers remaining in posts they held prior to the General Election. Below are some of the key appointments:

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

• Sajid Javid succeeds Vince Cable as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. Mr Javid’s previous Government roles include Culture Secretary, Minister for Equalities, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
• Jo Johnson succeeds Greg Clark as Minister for Universities and Science, who has moved to the Department for Communities and Local Government. Mr Johnson has previously been Head of the Downing Street Policy Unit and Assistant Chief Whip. Mr Johnson will not attend Cabinet as his predecessors David Willetts and Mr Clark did.
• George Freeman remains in post as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Life Sciences. The post will continue to be jointly held with the Department for Health.
• Nick Boles remains in post as Minister for Skills, a post jointly held with the Department for Education.
• Anne Soubry succeeds Matthew Hancock as Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise. She was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary for Public Health.
• Ed Vaizey remains in post as Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, jointly with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
• Lord (Francis) Maude is appointed Minister for Trade and Investment, the third consecutive Conservative peer to be given the role. Lord Maude was previously Minister for the Cabinet Office, the role now taken by Matthew Hancock.
• Baroness (Lucy) Neville-Rolfe remains in post as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Intellectual Property.

Other non-Ministerial appointments

• Professor Timothy Dafforn has been appointed as the new Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department, taking over from Professor John Perkins who stepped down in December last year. Professor Dafforn appeared on the Science Council’s Conservative Party Conference fringe event panel in 2014. He will begin his new role at the beginning of June this year.

Department for Education

• Nicky Morgan remains in post as Secretary of State for Education.
• Nick Gibb remains in post as Minister for Schools.
• Nick Boles remains in post as Minister for Skills, a post jointly held with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Edward Timpson is appointed Minister for Children and Families, previously holding the post of Parliamentary Under Secretary for Children and Families.
• Caroline Dinenage is appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary for Women and Equalities and Family Justice, having previously been Minister for Equalities.
• Sam Gyimah remains in post as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Childcare and Education.
• Lord (John) Nash remains in post as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools.

Other noteworthy Departmental appointments

• Elizabeth Truss remains in post as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
• Amber Rudd succeeds Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
• Jeremy Hunt remains in post as Secretary of State for Health.
• Greg Clark succeeds Eric Pickles as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
• James Wharton is appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary and Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse.