The Queen outlined the government's priorities for the year ahead, highlighting 30 laws that the government intends to pass in the coming year.

Health and care was at the heart of this Queen’s Speech, with the Prime Minister saying that it “sets out how we will beat COVID-19 and back the NHS”. Alongside the wide-ranging Health and Care Bill, the government has announced plans to continue to support the vaccine roll out, provide additional funding for the NHS, focus on prevention and reform the Mental Health Act. There was a renewed commitment to bring forward “proposals on social care reform”, however there was no detail on what these proposals would entail.

This briefing contains an overview of key announcements relevant to health and social care, including the Health and Care Bill, along with a summary of other legislation and policies of interest.