Scrutiny will be intense as the Government unveils its proposed legislation for the final full session of parliament before a General Election, which must be held no later than June 2010.

Amid widespread concern over the recession, economic and banking reforms are likely to be at the heart of the legislative programme including measures to prevent credit card companies from increasing interest rates at short notice.

Last week Alistair Darling also pledged to stop banks withdrawing overdrafts from businesses overnight. "All you can drink" promotions are expected to be banned in a move to tackle binge drinking, while there will be tighter controls over lap dancing clubs.

Many of the measures expected to be announced were unveiled before the summer in the draft Queen's Speech, including plans to give elected officials power over police.

With the economy at the top of the agenda, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has been heavily involved in the final drafting of the programme and several more minor Bills are believed to have been dropped.

Setting out the Government's agenda last night, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We believe in providing real help for families and business now, when they need it. But it also means taking action to ensure our communities are strong. Stronger communities, quite simply, will help our country come through these times faster and stronger.

"So as Government takes action, we expect people to play their part in return, with clear consequences for those who do not. In a fair society that is what people would expect." The crackdown on benefit cheats will see the current rules – which remove benefits for 13 weeks from second-time fraudsters – toughened. Long-term jobseekers will have to take suitable work and parents will have to search for a job earlier if they want to keep income support.

A Government-commissioned report yesterday called for unemployed people to do a 9 to 5 day looking for work or undertake community service-style duties such as digging gardens to avoid losing their benefits.

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said the Gregg Review's "direction of travel" was the right way, but pressure groups, unions and Labour leftwingers attacked the report, warning it was "bullying" lone parents into work and attacking the poorest in society.

Other expected measures include more publicity for court verdicts, tougher measures to protect those in authority from attack, more family intervention projects offering personal support to troubled families, and the reclassification of lap dancing clubs as 'sex encounter establishments' to allow councils to take into account a wider range of local concerns before granting licences. The number of clubs in Leeds has been a particular concern.

Plans to make police more accountable are likely to prove highly controversial with debate still raging over the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Tory frontbencher Damian Green. Today's debate of the Queen's Speech may even be interrupted by MPs concerned over the arrest.

The "fairness" theme will include new immigrants being required to learn English and full access to benefits and social housing restricted to full British citizens.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling, said: "Labour has been in power for ten years – it can hardly turn around and say Britain has to get fairer when it's their policy failures which have caused a decade of unfairness." Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called for legislation to stop unfair repossessions, draft measures to pressure banks into lending to house buyers and small businesses, and to revive democracy.