Selaine Saxby: King’s speech to Parliament is not just ceremony

Whilst it may just seem like a lot of pomp and ceremony the prorogation of Parliament is a crucial part of the parliamentary year.

Any legislation that is ongoing has to be concluded (or very occasionally it can be carried over), which is why we have seen a raft of Bills receive Royal Assent and become law at the end of October.

Not only does Prorogation add a sense of urgency to stop us MPs overly debating each Bill and get them over the line into law, but it also sets up Parliament for the King’s Speech.

This will be the first King’s Speech since 1951 and is the opportunity for the Government to set out its legislative agenda for the next session of Parliament. It will be very exciting to see the King take his place and deliver his own words after Her late Majesty served us so inspirationally for so long.

A lot can be done in a session of Parliament! Since the Queen’s Speech in May 2022 we have taken 43 Government Bills through to become Acts, seven have been carried over to the next session.

This has taken a considerable amount of work and will make a real difference to the lives of all of us across the UK.

I was particularly proud to work on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, we all know that the proliferation of short term lets and Airbnbs has reduced the availability of affordable homes for local families, both to buy and to rent on a long term basis.

Tackling the housing crisis in North Devon is fundamental to my work, and last year I turned down a job in Government specifically to work on this Bill.

The key amendment I worked to have included in the Bill and indeed signed was to allow for the registration of short-term rental properties.

This registration scheme will allow local councils to ensure that any short term lets are of a high quality, manage the proportion of short term lets in a community and ensure we have a sustainable tourist economy which benefits local people.

I am glad to say that, even though the Bill has only just become law, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has already closed the consultation so this scheme will be brought in as soon as possible. 

I continue to push for this scheme to come forward and met with the Secretary of State at DCMS last month as well to ensure it is progressing.

Our future energy is frequently brought up by constituents concerned both about the cost of their bills, and the outlook for our planet. I worked on the Energy Bill which will lay the foundations for cheap, green energy for British households.

The development of renewable energy sources here in the UK is essential, but as we are seeing with the proposed White Cross development, we need to ensure the appropriate mechanisms are in place to maximise the benefit of these developments, rather than them coming at the cost of the local environment and community.

I worked with the Government to include support for community energy projects in the Bill. The Government has established the new Community Energy Fund and I encourage those who are interested in our sunny, windy and tidal North Devon to apply.

I also supported measures to develop onshore wind farms, so that local farmers can install single turbines to power their farms. We all enjoy our farmers’ high quality British produce, and we need to support them as they work to make their farms more sustainable.

Similarly, our off grid rural properties need access to affordable options that are more sustainable than traditional heating oil and was glad the Government will support the use of hydrogenated vegetable oils for heating similar to their use in transport.

There were so many more crucial Bills that I worked on covering everything from shark fins to freedom of speech. I am looking forward to the next parliamentary session so I can continue to bring about the change that North Devon wants to see and work on key issues, not just talk about them!