In the speech’s accompanying background notes, it is noted the extended two year programme ‘will also include three Finance Bills to implement budget decisions’.

‘Summer Finance Bill 2017 will include a range of tax measures including those to tackle avoidance,’ it adds. ‘The programme will also include a technical Bill to ratify several minor EU agreements and further bills, which will be announced in due course, to effect the UK’s withdrawal from the EU’. The government will also be taking forward a range of other measures which may not require primary legislation.’

The Finance Bill 2017 which followed March’s Budget was hollowed out, with the majority of measures stripped out of the final Act, leaving uncertainty for tax advisers and taxpayers, who are having to deal with new rules which came into force in April 2017 but have not been legislated.

Legislation relating to Making Tax Digital; all corporation tax measures including carried forward losses and corporate loss relief was removed from the Bill as it shrank from 762 pages to 140. 

The government will have until 20 July 2017 to consider any changes to the bill before summer recess commences, equating to 20 sitting days.

John Cullinane, Chartered Institute of Taxation’s tax policy director called on the government to give more detail about what it intends to include in the Finance Bill and the timescale for its implementation.

‘The government have confirmed they will be introducing a summer Finance Bill but said little about what it will contain. There remains a need for an urgent statement to clarify the government’s intention on the proposals dropped from the pre-election Finance Bill.

National insurance

A National Insurance Bill will be put forward, although the government was at pains to stress it ‘does not relate to the discussion of Class 4 contributions at the time of the Spring Budget 2017’.

Instead, the background notes state the government will legislate for the ‘national insurance contribution (NICs) changes announced in the 2016 Budget and the 2016 Autumn Statement’ and; ‘make the NICs system fairer and simpler’.

In that Budget, it was announced Class 2 NICs were abolished. Following the abolition of Class 2 NICs, self-employed contributory benefit entitlement will be accessed through Class 3 and Class 4 NICs.

Financial Guidance & Claims Bill

The Queen’s Speech saw the government propose a single body responsible for all public financial guidance. The current public financial guidance service is delivered by the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise, with services overlapping. A single merged body will improve efficiency by reducing duplication and will deliver better value for money, the government said.

It also proposed strengthening the regulation of claims management companies by transferring the regulatory responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Queen's Speech can be read in full here.

The Queen's Speech background notes can be read here.