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The government has been accused of further undermining its agenda for integrated children's services by including legislation in this week's Queen's Speech to give primary schools new freedoms.

An Education Bill would give primaries the same rights as secondary schools to gain foundation status, and with it freedom to set their own admissions arrangements, by a vote of the governing body.

Council children's services leaders warned this could lead schools to effectively refuse access to disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Chris Waterman, executive director of the Confederation of Education and Children's Services Managers, said: "It will militate against delivering the Every Child Matters agenda by promoting competition between schools rather than co-operation."

Former chair of the Association of Directors of Education and Children's Services David Hawker said: "It could drive a wedge between schools and their partners in the children's services authority."

The move could jeopardise the government's plans for extended schools, most of which had been expected to be primaries.

The bill was one of 45 announced in the Queen's Speech, almost half of which affect social care (see panel).

As expected, the government has produced a Mental Health Bill but there is no indication as yet whether it has responded to criticisms that draft legislation emphasised public safety at the expense of users' rights.

The government will also legislate to create a register of people barred from working with children and vulnerable adults by 2007, implementing a key recommendation from Sir Michael Bichard's inquiry into the Soham murders.

This will build on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults, Protection of Children Act and List 99 registers. However, following criticisms of the exclusion of NHS staff from the Pova list, charities warned that the register must be comprehensive.

Richard Kramer, director of policy at Turning Point, said: "The bill should include people employed in day care services, the NHS as well as those in social care."

The government has also proposed a new Immigration and Asylum Bill, the sixth raft of asylum legislation since 1993.

It includes new civil penalties for people employing illegal immigrants, although the government has not confirmed whether it will also make refugee status temporary, as promised in the five-year plan on asylum.

Selected bills announced in queen's speech affecting social care

• Charities Bill, public benefit test for charities.
• Work and Families: Childcare Bill, duty for councils to ensure child care for children up to 14.
• Work and Families: Parental Rights Bill, extension of maternity pay from six to nine months.
• Child Contact and Inter-Country Adoption Bill, powers for courts to enforce contact orders.
• Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill, commissioner to represent older people, with right to take up individual cases.
• Consumer Credit Bill, greater protection against unfair lending.
• Corporate Manslaughter Bill, companies to be targeted for health and safety failings with fatal consequences.
• Equality Bill, to create Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
• Government of Wales Bill, provides for increased legislative powers for Welsh Assembly.
• Housing Benefit Bill, new flat-rate allowances paid to tenants not landlords.
• Health Improvement and Protection Bill, will ban smoking in most public places.
• Incapacity Benefit Bill, increased benefits for severely disabled, work incentives for the rest.
• Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill, extends incitement laws to Christians and Muslims.
• Management of Offenders and Sentencing Bill, extends tagging for people on community sentences and bail.
• National Lottery Bill, establishes single distribution body The Big Lottery Fund.
• Violent Crime Bill, measures to tackle antisocial behaviour.