(Adds new reaction)
May 25 (Reuters) - Reactions to the legislative programme of Britain's new government presented by Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday:
JOHN CRIDLAND, CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY
"The coalition is right to put deficit reduction and securing economic growth at the heart of its first Queen's Speech.
"National Insurance Contributions are a tax on jobs and reducing next year's increase to the employers' contribution is the right move at a time when we want to encourage businesses to create jobs. This is good news for firms of all sizes.
"Businesses are greatly encouraged by the prospect of a five-year roadmap for reform of the corporation tax system."
OXFAM
"A Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions could be used to fund ... changes in the welfare system, rather than increasing VAT, which would undoubtedly be felt by the poorest first." "We warmly welcome the government's confirmation they will honour their commitment to spend 0.7 percent of Gross National Income on overseas aid from 2013 ... However, the coalition government has missed a key opportunity to follow through on its promise to enshrine this commitment in law."
PAUL COOK, TEARFUND, DEVELOPMENT CHARITY
"It's not enough to see overseas development assistance simply reiterated as a government commitment. We need to see development aid spending at 0.7 percent of Gross National Income made law, as laid out in last week's coalition agreement."
DAVID NUSSBAUM, WWF ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP
"The UK needs a revolution in the way we think about and source our energy, and we strongly support the Bill announced in today's Queen's Speech. The proposed implementation of an emissions performance standard, provided it is set at the right level, could prevent saddling us to a new generation of polluting coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, the delivery of a smart grid will be crucial for the UK's low carbon future."
MARK SERWOTKA, PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES UNION
"We are deeply concerned about the further erosion of state services that have been built up over many years and which millions of people rely on. We are not only committed to defending our members' jobs and livelihoods, but we are also calling for a major coalition of trade unions and community groups to come together to fight these cuts and defend public services."
BILLY HAYES, COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
(On plans to part-privatise state-owned Royal Mail)
"We will fight these proposals. There's no mandate from the public to privatise Britain's postal services. It's not supported by the public and it's not supported by postal workers."
CHRISTINE BLOWER, NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS
(On plans to allow more state-funded schools to opt out of local authority control and become independent "academy" schools):
"Creating academies on the scale proposed by the government will have the effect of transferring billions of pounds of publicly funded assets in the form of buildings and land into the hands of private sponsors...
"This is a retrograde step which will cause social division and planning gridlock, and drive a bulldozer through properly accountable local authority provision of education."
MARY BOUSTED, ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS AND LECTURERS
"These proposals to turn more schools into academies are just irresponsible. They have not been properly thought through and could end up making a mess of education provision through their unintended consequences."
DAVID FROST, BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
"We are pleased that the government is prioritising a reduction in the budget deficit -- and that it has broadly chosen to avoid placing additional regulatory burdens on wealth-creating businesses. Over the coming weeks, we will be judging the government's performance against the delivery of a clear plan to enable business growth."
DAVE PRENTIS, PUBLIC SECTOR TRADE UNION UNISON
"The plans set out in this dismal Queen's Speech spell danger for public services, and for economic growth and offer little hope to either the young or long-term jobless.
"With the recovery at an embryonic stage, it is vital that support for growth is maintained. Cutting public services and jobs now will hit local economies, stunting economic growth, and ultimately force long-term borrowing up."
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)