Lawyers have given an unenthusiastic response to the Queen’s Speech programme of 30 bills for the next Parliamentary term.
Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce said the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would be meaningless without investment in the criminal justice system. She called for legal aid to be restored for early advice in housing, family and other areas.
However, it was the proposal to bring forward judicial review reform that caused most concern. Boyce said this risked ‘taking power away from citizens and putting more into the hands of government.
‘The independent panel convened by government to review the relationship between the courts and the state found no evidence of judicial overreach. Judicial review is an essential check on power’.
Chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC agreed: ‘The judicial review process is central to access to justice for the public. We are concerned that some of the proposed reforms are far-reaching with insufficient time allowed for consultation or scrutiny.’
Both the Bar Council and the Law Society have expressed concerns about the Home Office’s ‘confused’ New Plan for Immigration consultation, which would be brought forward in a sovereign borders bill.
Another bill promised to ease planning controls and increase housebuilding in England.
Marnix Elsenaar, head of planning at Addleshaw Goddard, said: ‘The government has promised a Planning Bill to "modernise the planning system, so that more homes can be built". That's all we got.
‘The Bill is likely to require local authorities to allocate land either for growth, so that new homes, schools, offices and shops will get a fast-track to planning approval, or for protection. Rumour has it that a third "regeneration" zone is being considered. What we can say with certainty is that the Bill will be a big step on the road away from the development control system that we're used to, towards a US-style zonal system that front-loads community engagement to the plan-making stage and provides a national and local design code that sets the parameters for what you can build.’
Other bills included a skills and post-16 education bill for England, and new laws to scrap the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.
