§ Her Majesty's most gracious Speech was then delivered to both Houses of Parliament by the Lord Chancellor (in pursuance of Her Majesty's Command) as follows:
§ "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,
§ "The Duke of Edinburgh and I were pleased to receive the State Visits of His Highness the Amir of Bahrain in April and the President of the French Republic and Madame Mitterrand last week.
§ "We look back with much pleasure to the visits we have made over the past year. As Head of the Commonwealth I was in New Delhi on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November. We paid State Visits to Kenya, Bangladesh and India in November and Jordan in March. Our thoughts are with the people of India today following the tragedy of Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. We visited France in June, to attend the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of D-Day. We were in Canada in September and October for the bicentenary celebrations of New Brunswick and Ontario, and to visit Manitoba.
§ "My Government welcomed the independence of Saint Christopher and Nevis, Brunei's resumption of full responsibility for its own external relations, and the decision of both countries to join the Commonwealth.
§ "My Government have sustained Britain's contribution to Western defence, playing an active part in the Atlantic Alliance. They welcomed Lord Carrington's appointment as its Secretary-General. In the absence of an arms control agreement, my Government fulfilled their undertaking to begin the deployment of cruise missiles by the end of 1983.
§ "My Government, with the United Kingdom's allies, have worked vigorously for balanced and 603 verifiable arms control and disarmament and have sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. They fully supported the United States' efforts to achieve nuclear arms reductions and their readiness to resume the negotiations suspended by the Soviet Union.
§ "My Government agreed with other Member States on a fair sharing of the European Community's budget burden and on control of Community spending. They have made proposals for new Community policies.
§ "My Government were hosts to the London Economic Summit in June and welcome its conclusions.
§ "My Government have continued fully to discharge their obligations to the people of the Falkland Islands, while seeking more normal relations between this country and Argentina. They have conducted talks with China on the future of Hong Kong and published the text of a draft agreement. They have been helping with the conversion of the Royal Navy Dockyard in Gibraltar to commercial operation.
§ "My Government have continued to support efforts to restore the independent and non-aligned status of Afghanistan and to settle the tragic conflict between Iran and Iraq. They have welcomed moves to reduce tension in Southern Africa, and continue to support peaceful change there and the early independence of Namibia. They supported United Nations efforts to settle the Cyprus question.
§ "Members of the House of Commons,
§ "I thank you for the provision which you have made for the honour and dignity of the Crown and for the public services.
§ "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,
§ "My Government have maintained the policies necessary to reduce inflation and sustain economic recovery. Inflation remains low and the output of the nation continues to increase. Steps have been taken to increase incentives and to improve the climate for enterprise, the creation of wealth, and adaptability and efficiency in industry and commerce. Measures have been taken to help the unemployed into jobs, to launch a comprehensive foundation training scheme for young people starting working life, and to improve vocational education and adult training.
§ "In order to promote economic efficiency and growth, my Government have continued their policies of exposing state-owned businesses to competition and returning them to the private sector where appropriate. Legislation has been passed to end British Telecom's exclusive privilege of running telecommunications systems, to establish arrangements for the licensing and regulation of telecommunications systems, and to prepare the way for the sale of British Telecom's shares. An Act has been passed to enable the introduction of private finance into the Royal Ordnance Factories. The disposal of oil assets of the British Gas Corporation has been successfully completed.
§ "Legislation has been passed to provide for 604 reforms in the tax system, especially for companies, in the interest of greater efficiency, to encourage the further development of United Kingdom oil and gas resources by abolishing royalties for certain new fields, and to provide a framework for the development of cable programme services and direct broadcasting by satellite. An Act has been passed to ensure continued funding for the Cooperative Development Agency and to introduce a new scheme of Regional Development grants.
§ "Legislation has been passed to give trade union members greater democratic control over their unions.
§ "An Act has been passed to protect ratepayers by limiting rate increases by high-spending local authorities, and to provide reserve powers for general limitation of rates. Legislation has been passed making interim arrangements for the Greater London Council and the metropolitan county councils pending a decision by Parliament on the abolition of those authorities.
§ "Acts have been passed to extend the right of public sector tenants to buy their homes, to reform the system of building control in England and Wales, and to assist purchases of public sector houses which have proved to be defective. Legislation has been passed to make more farming tenancies available in England and Wales, and to make other improvements in the law relating to agricultural tenancies.
§ "An Act has been passed transferring control of London Transport from the Greater London Council to the Government.
§ "Legislation has been passed to modernise and clarify the law of England and Wales governing the investigation of crime and evidence in criminal proceedings, to strengthen the ties between the police and the community there and to extend powers to prevent acts of terrorism and to increase safegards for people subject to such powers.
§ "An Act has been passed to introduce important new safegards for individuals about whom information is held on computers.
§ "Legislation has been passed to improve family law and its administration in England Wales, to clarify the liability of occupiers of premises to persons other than their visitors and to amend the law concerning limitation of actions.
§ "My Government has continued to work for higher standards in education, announcing proposals on the school curriculum, examinations and increasing the influence of parents over their children's schooling. Legislation has been passed to enable grants to be paid to local education authorities in England and Wales for improvements and innovations.
§ "Legislation has been passed to replace non-contributory invalidity pensions with a severe disablement allowance. My Government has also embarked on a series of fundamental reviews of the social security system, seeking to ensure that this large programme operates effectively and in ways suited to present day needs.
605§ "My Government has taken further action to ensure that patients receive the best value for money spent on the National Health Service.
§ "My Government has encouraged Northern Ireland's elected representatives to seek arrangements, acceptable across the community, whereby responsibilities can be returned to local administration. A high priority had been given to the maintenance of law and order and support for the Northern Ireland economy.
§ "For Scotland, measures have been passed to extend the right of public sector tenants, and to improve the legislation governing rating and valuation, promotion of tourism overseas, roads and inshore fisheries.
§ "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may attend you."
§ After which the Lord Chancellor said:
§ My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, by virtue of Her Majesty's Commission which has been now read we do in Her Majesty's name, and in obedience to Her Majesty's Commands, prorogue this Parliament to the 6th day of November 1984, to be then here holden, and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Tuesday, the 6th day of November 1984.
§ Parliament was prorogued at eleven o'clock.