The Queen's Speech sets out what the Government plans to do for the year ahead. Of the ten new bills announced, eight will directly affect Scotland.

Six will apply in full, and two in smaller ways. The three Bills brought forward from the last session will also apply in Scotland. There are also three draft bills which are UK-wide in scope.

New Bills to be introduced

The Energy Bill will help families with energy bills by introducing mandatory social price support, reducing the energy bills of the most vulnerable. It will also commit the Government to clean coal and provide funding for four commercial-scale carbon capture projects.

The Financial Services Bill will mean banks themselves and not the taxpayer are made to pay for bank failings. It will regulate bankers pay, including giving a power to tear up contracts which do not comply with the rules, and place a legal duty on the FSA to promote finacial stability. The Bill will ban unsolicited credit card cheques.

The Bribery Bill will strengthen the law on bribery across the UK. The aspects of criminal law in the bill are devolved but the Scottish Government has agreed that the best way of reforming the laws in Scotland is for the bill to apply across the UK, with Westminster legislating on it.

The Cluster Munitions Prohibition Bill will ban the use, development, production, stockpiling, retention or transfer of cluster bombs.

The Digital Economy Bill will secure the UK's position as one of the world's leading digital knowledge economies", of benefit to more than 500 digital media companies and 800 ICT companies in Scotland. It will support the video game industry by saving manufacturers' costs for re-licensing games across Europe.

The Fiscal Responsibility Bill will require that the UK budget deficit is reduced, ensuring that the national debt remains stable in the medium term.

The Agency Workers' Regulations will give agency workers new rights at works after 12 weeks of work.

The Crime and Security Bill will not all apply to Scotland, but will provide more powers to license private security companies, and strengthen measures to ensure that air-weapons do not fall into the hands of children.

Bills carried over from the last session

The Child Poverty Bill will enshrine in law Labour's commitment to ending child poverty by 2020. Over 80,000 children in Scotland have been lifted out of poverty since 1998, and we will continue this by raising the Child Tax Credit by £20 above indexation in April.

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill aims to rebuild trust in our democratic institutions, by reforming the House of Lords, repealing laws prevent protests around parliament, and place the civil service on a statutory footing.

The Equality Bill will streamline equality law by replacing nine separate pieces of legislation and giving new support to individuals and businesses to comply with the law.

Draft Bills

The House of Lords Reform Bill proposes to complete the reform of the House of Lords and replace it with an elected second chamber.

The International Development Spending Bill will make binding the government’s commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on official development assistance from 2013.

The Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Bill will modernise and simplify the procedure for a person who has suffered an injury or loss, caused by an insolvent person, but who is likely only to be able to recover compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurer.

New Bills affecting Scotland in more minor ways

The Flood and Water Management Bill is mainly applicable to England and Wales, but will establish responsibility for cross-border reservoir safety as a precautionary measure for the future, and abolish the Fisheries (Electricity) Committee as its functions are now conducted by SEPA.