The recent State Opening of Parliament – the first since the Labour Party’s return to power in July under Sir Keir Starmer – offered no shortage of the pomp and ceremony that characterises such fundamental state occasions. 

Of particular relevance for transport consultants, however, were the transport-related elements of His Majesty King Charles III’s most gracious speech, which revealed much about the new Government’s agenda for the 2024-25 parliamentary session. 

While they were far from the only proposed pieces of legislation of interest to stakeholders in the UK’s highways and transport infrastructure, the below five bills announced in the King’s Speech look set to shape much of the Starmer ministry’s approach to this aspect of national life.  

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill 

Having criticised the UK’s present planning regime as “a major brake on economic growth”, the Government has described reformation of the planning system as important for “unlocking” such growth, “enabling us to deliver both the housing and critical infrastructure that communities need.” 

With these priorities in mind, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is geared towards speeding up and streamlining the planning process to assist with the construction of homes and the delivery of major infrastructure projects. 

The Government has said that the Bill will improve the planning system at local level, in addition to streamlining the delivery process for critical infrastructure and further reforming compulsory purchase compensation rules. 

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill 

As referenced by the King, this Bill relates to the Government’s commitment to “bring forward legislation to improve the railways by reforming rail franchising… and bringing train operators into public ownership”. 

This proposed legislation has been described by ministers as “an early step” towards delivering a broader reform package. It will amend existing railways legislation to make the appointment of a public-sector operator the default position, instead of a last resort. 

The Better Buses Bill 

This Bill is aimed at enabling local leaders to, as stated by the King, “take control of their local bus services.” It supports the Government’s manifesto commitment to reform the bus system through the delivery of new powers for local leaders to franchise local bus services. It will also lift the restriction on the creation of new publicly owned bus operators. 

Again, the Government has emphasised the importance of “economic growth” in its summary of the Bill, which it has said will “help bring an end to the postcode lottery of bus services” and “give local leaders the tools they need to deliver better bus networks, at pace”. 

The Railways Bill 

Central to the new Government’s agenda has been its pledge to establish a new state-owned company, Great British Railways, which will oversee all rail transport in Great Britain, subject to some exceptions, such as Merseytravel and Transport for London (TfL). 

Sure enough, the Railways Bill is set to merge passenger services and network management into this single public body. 

The Railways Bill will work alongside the initial Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill. It will make legislative changes to, in the Government’s words, “comprehensively reform our rail sector – bringing track and train back together and planning services on a whole-system basis, to better deliver for passengers and freight customers, and to unlock growth”. 

The High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill 

The new Government has stated that it is not reversing the decision to cancel HS2’s second phase. It is, however, repurposing this Bill to provide powers to build and operate rail projects that enhance east-to-west connectivity across northern England. 

Powers are also incorporated into this Bill to enable new rail infrastructure in Manchester and the nearby area, encompassing new stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. 

Enquire today to your nearest Transport Planning Associates (TPA) office to take advantage of transport planning and infrastructure advice from our transport consultants, which could be instrumental in the successful delivery of your projects.