Cheers for what’s in King’s Speech, boos for what’s not

Cheers for what’s in, boos for what’s not in the King’s speech, delivered in the Houses of Parliament on 17 July 2024.

The legal profession’s reaction to the King’s Speech yesterday focused as much on what is not in the government’s legislative priorities as what is.

While the Arbitration Bill, which fell because the election was called, has been revived as one of the 40 bills, two others which ran out of time before Parliament was prorogued – the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill and the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill – were not.

This does not necessarily mean they will never return but there is no immediate prospect of them doing so. The latter was a private member’s bill brought by a Labour MP but backed by the government. The MP, Wayne David, stood down at the election.

Other disappointments included nothing on regulating estate agents and no AI Bill, to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.

The Arbitration Bill will implement the recommendations of a 2022 Law Commission report. The government said the current 1996 Arbitration Act 1996 “must be modernised to continue attracting international legal business” to London.

The proposed Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill includes the manifesto commitment to “reduce delays in the courts system by allowing associate prosecutors (APs) to work on appropriate cases”.

APs are specially trained lay employees of the Crown Prosecution Service, with level 1 APs permitted by law to conduct uncontested cases in the magistrates’ courts, and level 2 APs able to conduct specified contested hearings, up to and including trials of summary-only non-imprisonable offences.

They are regulated by CILEx Regulation, although this would shift to the Solicitors Regulation Authority if the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives goes ahead with its plan to change regulator.

The Employment Rights Bill is one of the most closely watched pieces of legislation. Among its provisions will be to make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one on the job for all workers (probation periods will remain), as well as making flexible working the default from day-one for all workers, “with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable”.

The notes on the bill produced by the government do not mention the Labour proposal to merge the ‘worker’ and ‘employee’ categories, which could have a significant impact on LLPs, whose members are generally categorised as workers. It may yet be in the bill itself.

Among the changes the Renters Rights Bill will introduce are abolishing section 21 no-fault evictions, empowering tenants to challenge rent increases “designed to force them out by the back door”, applying ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the private sector by “setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must make homes safe”, and creating a new ombudsman service for the private sector so landlords and tenants can avoid court.

The Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, meanwhile, will allow leaseholders to extend their lease and buy their freehold, and take over the freeholder’s building management functions, as well as “reinvigorating commonhold by modernising the legal framework” and restricting the sale of new leasehold flats. Ground rents for existing leaseholders will be regulated.

By adopting the Hillsborough Law, the government will introduce a duty of candour for public servants and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related death.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said:

“The new UK government has set out an ambitious legislative plan and we are pleased to see the criminal justice system is on their agenda.

“We hope the government will work proactively to protect and secure access to justice and make our justice system a source of pride again.”

He called for an immediate real-terms increase in criminal legal aid rates of 15% “while wider reform takes place” and, for civil legal aid, an immediate £11.3m investment in early advice to sustain the system while the ongoing review takes place.

Nick Emmerson said:

“Scrapping the Rwanda policy alongside introducing a Bill seeking to modernise the immigration and asylum system is a pragmatic and sensible approach to immigration.”

The society backed scrapping the Rwanda scheme, the planned modernisation of the Mental Health Act and abolishing section 21 evictions.

Emmerson added:

“We hope the government will ensure an appropriate balance between tenants’ rights and landlords’ routes to repossession by increasing access to housing legal aid and resourcing the courts so there is capacity to handle the caseload.”

Bar Council chair Sam Townend KC welcomed the new government’s “commitment to tackle the Crown Court backlogs” but cautioned that measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce new powers for the police, new offences or sentences “must be backed by proper resources for the administration of justice after charge”.

Townend went on:

“We are pleased to see the Government intends to bring back the Arbitration Bill.

“This important reform will help to ensure London maintains its deserved reputation as the foremost centre for international arbitration, supporting our legal profession, and is an important contribution to the country’s income from exports.”

Neil Purslow, chairman of the International Legal Finance Association and also chief investment officer at funder Therium, said he was disappointed the Litigation Funding Bill was not included.

Purslow said:

“Current claimants, from shopworkers to consumers, will continue to face uncertainty until this issue is resolved.

“As the justice secretary said this week: ‘Justice delayed is all too often justice denied’.

“We urge the government to find a way of fixing this issue quickly to ensure individuals and businesses like the sub-postmasters can continue to secure justice.”

Sheila Kumar, chief executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, said:

“Leasehold reform and a reinvigoration of commonhold are both welcome inclusions in the King’s Speech, but the government has missed an opportunity to make further improvements to the home-buying and selling process by failing to introduce measures to regulate property agents.

“Regulation of estate agents and managing agents could be immensely helpful for improving the operation of the property market, making better use of housing stock, supporting growth and providing increased confidence to consumers.

“The CLC is working with key organisations across the sector to pave the way to a better home buying and selling process that will benefit the nation and the new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill should support that work further.”

The government briefing notes for all the legislation in the King’s Speech can be found here.

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