12 May 2026
The State Opening marks the beginning of the parliamentary session where the Monarch is set to formally open Parliament and, in the King’s Speech, outline the government's proposed policies and legislation for the coming parliamentary session.
Ministerial statements, government publications and press reporting indicate that there may be legislation on the following subjects in the 2026–27 session:
• veterinary and animal welfare reform
• reforms to the asylum system
• the nationalisation of British Steel
• reforms to financial services and business-to-business payments
• Digital ID
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform in England
• energy independence
• reform of the water sector
• the abolition of NHS England and other reforms in the 10 Year Health Plan
• reforms to the criminal justice and national security systems
• creating a legal duty to remediate defective cladding
• UK-EU agreements, including a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement
• local government standards and scrutiny of mayoral strategic authorities
• a new power for mayors to charge a visitor levy
• public procurement reform
• a process for removing peerages
• road safety.
The Commons have also agreed a carry-over motion for the following bills which are still in motion:
- Armed Forces Bill
- Courts and Tribunals Bill
- Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill
- Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
- Public Office (Accountability) Bill
- Railways Bill
- Representation of the People Bill
- A carry-over motion has been agreed for the hybrid bill: High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill
- National Wealth Fund Bill was announced but not introduced in the last session.
- Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill and the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill are two draft bills that were published
- Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill and the draft Conversion Practices Bill are two draft bills that were announced but not published.
As always, the CIPP will be watching for any news affecting the payroll profession and will keep our members updated via our website.
Information provided in this news article may be subject to change. Please make note of the date of publication to ensure that you are viewing up to date information.
