Theresa May drops key manifesto pledges from Queen’s speech
This article gives a good overview of the Queen’s Speech. The issues of free school meals, winter fuel payments, the proposed energy cap and the now “infamous” dementia tax all now dropped all had significant and differential implications for rural settings in my view. If you want a blow by blow account follow this link for the BBC’s detailed commentary. The article tells us:
The speech set out the new government’s domestic priorities, including sweeping changes to technical education and beefed-up plans for tackling domestic violence.
But a series of controversial proposals set out in the Conservative manifesto were absent from the speech, and from the list of 27 bills the government hopes to pass.
Plans to scrap free school meals, ration winter fuel payments for pensioners, repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, and introduce what became widely known as the “dementia tax” for funding social care have been swept away by the election result.
The government also appears to be willing to go back to the drawing board on its changes of the school funding formula, after Conservative MPs raised concerns about looming cuts.
The spokesman was unable to say whether the government would stick to the Conservative manifesto pledge to “make sure no school has its budget cut as a result of the new formula” – a promise that was meant to be funded by scrapping free school lunches.
Grammar schools were not mentioned at all, despite the manifesto pledge to consult on opening new selective schools.