King Charles III has set out the UK government’s legislative agenda, outlining a continued commitment to bring inflation down, support for homeowners and confirming plans to tackle smoking.
In his first King’s Speech, the King said the government’s focus is on increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come.
"My ministers will address inflation and the drivers of low growth over demands for greater spending or borrowing," the King said.
It will continue to take action to bring down inflation, to ease the cost of living for families and help businesses fund new jobs and investment, the King added.
He pledged the government would support the Bank of England to return inflation to target and introduce legislation to strengthen the UK’s energy security.
This will include the future licensing of new oil and gas fields, helping the country to transition to net zero by 2050 without adding undue burdens on households.
It will also seek to attract record levels of investment in renewable energy sources and reform grid connections.
The speech also confirmed plans to introduce legislation to create a “smokefree generation” by restricting the sale of tobacco so that children currently aged 14 or younger can never be sold cigarettes, and restricting the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children.
There were also pledges to reform the housing market by making it “cheaper and easier” for leaseholders to purchase their freehold and protecting homeowners from “punitive service charges”.
Support was also laid out for the commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles, introduce new competition rules for digital markets, encourage innovation in technologies such as machine learning plus legislation to support creative industries and protect public interest journalism.