Research briefing setting out the government’s commitments covering justice for the House of Lords debate on the 2024 King’s Speech.
King's Speech 2024: Justice (322 KB , PDF)
The Labour Party has set out its aim to reform the justice system in a way that would “put the needs of victims first, tackle the prisons crisis and cut reoffending”. The manifesto contained various commitments on criminal justice it said a Labour government would introduce.
To address the court backlog, Labour has committed to extending the powers of associate prosecutors and the victims’ commissioner, as well as introducing specialist courts to hear rape cases.
To increase prison capacity, the party has committed to designating prisons as being of ‘national importance’ to enable government ministers to have the final say when approving the building of new prisons.
The Labour Party has also committed to addressing historical injustices. For example, it said a Labour government would introduce a ‘Hillsborough law’ to place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.
The Library’s briefings for the King’s Speech draw on the Labour Party’s manifesto and other material in the public domain. They have been written in advance of the 2024 King’s Speech to help members of the House of Lords prepare for the debate on the speech. They do not constitute official information about the government’s intentions or provide a complete list of bills to be announced.
King's Speech 2024: Justice (322 KB , PDF)
The Hares (Closed Season) Bill [HL] would create a closed season during which it would be an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any hare between 1 February to 30 September each year. It would also repeal the Hares Preservation Act 1892.
![Hares (Close Season) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 52 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Agriculture-and-farming-568x426.png)
The UK co-founded and is a member of the Media Freedom Coalition, which advocates for media freedom, the safety of journalists, and holding those who harm journalists to account. More than 50 journalists have been killed every year since 2019, often with impunity. They can also be subject to detention and legal intimidation. The previous government worked with the UN and other multilateral organisations to promote media freedom, and the current government has said it will protect independent journalism.
In October 2024, a House of Lords committee published a post-legislative review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The committee argued that the legislation was no longer world-leading. It suggested developments worldwide had led to the UK falling behind internationally and that recent immigration legislation had limited the act’s support infrastructure for victims. It called on government policy to recognise the difference between migrants coming to the UK willingly and victims of trafficking.
