Brown draws election battle lines

The government has unveiled its final legislative package before the general election, with pledges to help the neediest pensioners and crack down on excesses in the financial sector.

With less than seven months to go before the country must go to the polls, the Queen's Speech set out a series of populist Bills designed to draw the battle lines between the parties.

Legislation is being brought forward to ensure free personal care for 280,000 elderly and disabled people with the highest needs.

There will also be new guarantees for parents on schooling as well as a crackdown on "risky" bank bonuses, and a law committing the government to halve its deficit over the next four years. But with parliamentary time running out, few of the streamlined package of 15 Bills are expected to make it to the statute book before the general election.

The Queen told the assembled MPs and peers: "My government's over-riding priority is to ensure sustained growth to deliver a fair and prosperous economy for families and businesses, as the British economy recovers from the global economic downturn. By the active creation of jobs, restructuring the financial sector, strengthening the national infrastructure and providing responsible investment, my Government will foster growth and employment."

The Personal Care at Home Bill is intended to enable elderly and disabled people to remain in their own homes rather than going into residential care - while laying the foundations for the new national care service promised by Mr Brown in his party conference speech in September. Officials estimate that about 400,000 people will benefit from the measures in the Bill, which will cost £670 million a year to implement.

They include a guarantee of free personal care at home for up to 280,000 people with the greatest needs although 166,000 do already receive free care. A further 130,000 who need home care will also benefit for the first time from other measures including adaptations to their homes - such as the installation of electronic pill dispensers so that they can carry on living in them for as long as possible.

According to officials, the financial measures in the programme should ensure that future banking crises will "never again come at a cost to the living standards of Britain's families".

The Financial Services Bill will bolster the Financial Services Authority (FSA), giving it the power to tear up bankers' contracts which could promote risky behaviour. Key banks and financial institutions will also be obliged to draw up "living wills" describing how they can be wound up without threatening the stability of the overall system.