During today’s Queen’s Speech, it was announced that student loans will be available to people of all ages, alongside a series of plans relating to the environment and the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

The Queen’s speech is an annual parliamentary event during which the government announces a series of legislative plans for the upcoming year.

This year, the speech included the decision for student loans to be available to people of all ages, in order to “support a lifetime skills guarantee, to enable flexible access to high-quality education and training throughout people’s lives”.

Under this, the current student finance system will be reformed to a ‘lifelong loan entitlement,’ giving all adults the ability to apply for up to four years worth of loans, for both part-time and full-time courses.

The speech stated that this “legislation will support a lifetime skills guarantee, to enable flexible access to high-quality education and training throughout people’s lives.”

The event is a part of the State Opening of Parliament ceremony, marking the start of the parliamentary year. Today’s speech marked the Queen’s 67th state opening of her reign.

Meanwhile, the Queen reiterated that it is the government’s “priority” to “protect the health of the nation” and “deliver a recover[y] from the pandemic.” This will include a renewed focus on national infrastructure and “level[ing] up opportunities” across the UK.

The speech also expressed the government’s plans to introduce a legal ban on gay conversion therapy in England and Wales, alongside plans to “establish a fairer immigration system that strengthens the united kingdon’s borders” in order to “deters criminals.”

The UK’s intention to reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was also announced during the speech.

The government’s plans to lead the post-pandemic recovery on a global scale was also announced, with hopes to “provide aid where it has the greatest impact on reducing poverty and alleviating human suffering” and get 40 million girls worldwide into education being expressed towards the end of the speech.