§ 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,
§ "My Government have taken action in support of economic stability and sound public finances, and have continued to increase investment in public services and tackle child poverty.
§ "Education is my Government's top priority. An Act has been passed to promote diversity, choice, innovation and higher standards in schools. The Act provides new opportunities for school partnerships, improved support for teachers, more options for tackling weak and failing schools and greater freedom for successful head teachers and governors.
§ "Legislation has been passed to reform health services and strengthen regulation of the health professions.
§ "An Act has been passed to increase powers against money laundering, establish a Criminal Assets Recovery Agency and make it easier to recover the proceeds of crime and drugs.
964§ "Legislation has been passed to modernise and reform the police service and to establish a new complaints system.
§ "Legislation has been passed to reform and streamline the system for dealing with immigration and applications for asylum.
§ "Legislation has been passed to reform employment dispute resolution procedures arid to introduce new employment rights, including measures to balance work and parental life.
§ "Legislation was also passed which introduced a new system of tax credits and a new pension credit for pensioners.
§ "An Act was passed to improve productivity and enterprise through reform of the competition, insolvency and consumer protection regimes.
§ "Draft legislation has been brought forward on a number of matters including on communications, local government and extradition.
§ "Members of the House of Commons,
§ "I thank you for the provision you have made for the work and dignity of the Crown and for the public service.
§ "My Lords and Members of the House of. Commons,
§ "In Northern Ireland, my Government continued to work closely with the political parties arid the Irish Government to secure the full implementation of the Belfast agreement.
§ "Acts have been passed to maintain the arrangements on decommissioning and to reform the criminal justice system, both part of the Belfast agreement. Provision has been made for new measures to combat electoral fraud in Northern Ireland.
§ "My Government have continued to co-operate with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the interests of all of the people of the United Kingdom. A White Paper was published outlining proposals for devolution to the English regions.
§ "My Government invited Parliament to set up a Joint Committee of both Houses to enable Parliament to reach a view on the second phase of House of Lords reform.
§ "Legislation was passed to allow political parties to make positive moves to increase the representation of women in public life.
§ "An Act was passed to reform the system of land registration. Legislation was also passed reforming residential leasehold law and improving leaseholders' rights and to create common hold.
§ "My Government brought forward legislation to make the age of entitlement for concessionary fares the same for men as it is for women.
§ "An Act has been passed to reform adoption law to make children's welfare paramount, encourage more adoption and strengthen regulation of overseas adoptions.
§ "Other important measures have been enacted.
965§ "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,
§ "The Duke of Edinburgh and I were pleased to receive the state visit of the King and Queen of Jordan last November.
§ "We recall with pleasure our visits to Jamaica and New Zealand in February and our subsequent visit to Australia on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Duke of Edinburgh and I were also delighted to pay a visit to Canada in October.
§ "Following the shocking events of 11th September, my Government have taken decisive action to help combat terrorism around the world and support the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
§ "My Government have continued to play a leading role in efforts to improve the competitiveness of Europe's economies and bring the European Union closer to its people. Legislation has been enacted enabling the United Kingdom to ratify the Treaty of Nice and implement decisions on the Union's future funding.
§ "My Government have played a key role in agreeing a timetable for enlargement of the European Union and in identifying practical ways to strengthen the Union's foreign and security policy, particularly its support for peace building in the Balkans.
§ "My Government have worked to strengthen NATO, equip it for the challenges of the future and develop its growing partnership with Russia.
966§ "My Government have worked for a more effective global effort to reduce poverty, including initiatives on debt relief and HIV/AIDS, and have enacted legislation to strengthen the poverty focus to Britain's development work.
§ "My Government ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change along with other EU partners, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
§ "In the United Nations, the Commonwealth and other fora, my Government have been active in promoting human rights and tackling the causes of conflict, including support for UN efforts in newly independent East Timor.
§ "My Government enacted legislation to grant British citizenship to British Overseas Territories citizens in qualifying territories.
§ "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 13th day of this instant November, to be then here holden, and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Wednesday, the 13th day of this instant November.
§ Parliament was prorogued at five minutes before seven o'clock.