The government is expected to announce tougher rules on immigration when it outlines its programme for the next year on Wednesday.

The State Opening is the grandest occasion in the parliamentary calendar

The Queen's Speech will include a parliamentary bill aimed at making it easier to deport foreign criminals and those who enter the UK illegally.

Other bills will cap social care costs in England and introduce a single state pension of £144 a week.

But a plan to monitor online and mobile communications is likely to be dropped.

The Queen's Speech, part of the State Opening of Parliament, allows the government to set out its proposed bills for the next parliamentary session.

The list will be read out by the monarch at a special gathering of the House of Lords and House of Commons at about 11:30 BST.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC while the government would not be publishing the full set of 15 bills, it would set out the main problems it wanted to address.

After the government's repeated setbacks in its efforts to deport the radical cleric Abu Qatada, an immigration bill will be announced, allowing foreign criminals to be deported more easily, as well as people who are in the UK illegally.

If passed, it would also ensure illegal immigrants cannot get driving licences, and change the rules so private landlords have to check their tenants' immigration status.

Businesses that use illegal foreign labour would face bigger fines.

The Queen, who speaks on behalf of the government during the ceremony, is expected to say: "We want to attract people who will add to our national life, and those who will not should be deterred."

She will add that the bill "will further reform the immigration system by tightening immigration law, strengthening our enforcement powers and clamping down on those from overseas who abuse our public services".

Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government wanted to tackle the abuse of the visa system and change the pull factors which bring people to this country, such as free healthcare.

"If people who aren't entitled to free NHS care use the NHS, that's fine, as long as they pay for it," he said. "The pull factors are very important if we are to deter people from coming here in the first place."

The immigration bill's publication comes the week after the success of the UK Independence Party, which campaigns to cut net migration, in last week's local elections in England.

The Queen's Speech, which was written before the local elections, will also put forward a bill to introduce a single weekly state pension of £144 per week, which will replace the current pension of £107 plus means-tested top-ups.

A health and social care bill is expected to introduce a cap on the cost of social care in England, as recommended by the Dilnot Commission.

High-speed link

Another piece of legislation could allow ministers to appoint the civil servant who runs their department.

And the government wants to make it an offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place, including all private property, and to formally introduce a law banning the use of wild animals in circuses.

There is likely to be a bill allowing the second stage of the HS2 high-speed rail ink, between Birmingham and Leeds, and Birmingham and Manchester. This would allow funding to be made available for the early design stages, before the whole project is given the go-ahead.

The coalition could also put forward a bill allowing constituents to "recall" MPs found guilty of serious wrongdoing, enabling their deselection.

However, one piece of legislation that will not feature in the Queen's Speech is a communications data bill.

Dubbed the "snoopers' charter" by opponents, it would have proposed the monitoring of UK citizens' online and mobile communications.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said the plans will not happen while the Lib Dems are in government.

'Without direction'

However, one of the party's senior peers, former government terrorism adviser Lord Carlile, has said this is not a "responsible" move, as it would allow more potential plots to go unnoticed.

David Cameron supports minimum alcohol pricing and the government has been consulting on a price of 45p per unit. But several cabinet ministers, including Theresa May, Michael Gove and Andrew Lansley, are said to be against the plan, meaning it is now unlikely to feature in the Queen's Speech.

“Start Quote

The immigration measures in the Queen's Speech don't tackle important issues on exploitation and illegal immigration.”

 

Ministers consulted last year on bringing in plain cigarette packets, but this is expected to be dropped.

The health secretary told BBC no decision had been made on minimum pricing for alcohol and plain packaging for cigarettes.

"Just because something is not in the Queen's Speech doesn't mean the government cannot bring it forward as law," Mr Hunt added.

For Labour, Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The immigration measures in the Queen's Speech don't tackle important issues on exploitation and illegal immigration.

"The government is still not tackling the exploitation of foreign workers leading to the undercutting of local workers.

"Immigration is important for Britain and needs to be controlled and managed so it is fair for all."

The Duchess of Cornwall will attend the State Opening of Parliament for the first time. The last time her husband, the Prince of Wales, attended the ceremony was in 1996.

It takes place the day after it was announced that Prince Charles would represent the monarch at the Commonwealth heads of government summit in Sri Lanka in November.

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