The Armed Forces Act, which gained Royal Assent in Parliament
today, enshrines the Armed Forces Covenant in law for the first
time to help prevent service personnel and veterans being
disadvantaged when accessing essential services like healthcare,
education and housing.
The Armed Forces Act will also deliver a series of improvements
to the Service Justice System, ensuring personnel have a clear,
fair and effective route to justice wherever they are operating.
Secretary of State for Defence said:
Today is a significant day for the military community which for
the first time has seen the Armed Forces Covenant enshrined in
law.
The Armed Forces Act places a legal obligation on public bodies
to consider the welfare of service personnel and veterans alike,
giving them improved access to crucial services that we all rely
on every day.
It will also strengthen the Service Justice System - an integral
part of the Armed Forces and support the unique role of our
people who operate globally.
One of the improvements will place a duty on the Director of
Service Prosecutions and the Director of Public Prosecutions to
agree a protocol on the handling of cases where there is a
concurrent jurisdiction between civilian and military legal
systems in England and Wales. This will provide further clarity
on how decisions on jurisdiction are made and ensure such
decisions are left to the independent service justice and
civilian prosecutors using guidance agreed between them.
A new independent body will be created to oversee complaints
against service police, managed by a Service Police Complaints
Commissioner who will guarantee there is an independent line of
redress if someone is dissatisfied with the outcome of a
complaint.
The Armed Forces Covenant has also been enshrined in law and
its Annual Report has
been released today, setting out major achievements of the
Covenant over the past year and its new commitments. This
includes the Forces Help to Buy Scheme, which has helped more
than 25,000 service personnel buy their first property, and the
provision of £2 million worth of grants, from the MOD’s Education
Support Fund, to 75 schools across the UK in support of service
children and their families.
Minister for Defence People and Veterans said:
This Armed Forces Bill is a very significant step forward in the
interests of our Armed Forces people, Service families and
veterans everywhere.
I’m particularly pleased that by issuing statutory guidance to
Local Authorities on how best to deliver Housing, Healthcare and
Education we continue to make real progress towards the
gold-standard care and support our Service people, their families
and veterans deserve.
People are our finest defence asset and this landmark bill
reflects that.
The Bill has also renewed the Armed Forces Act 2006, following
the Acts of 2011 and 2016. It will help to improve the
flexibility of service for Reserve personnel by enabling the
introduction of a new type of commitment providing for full or
part-time service, or a combination. It will also tackle delays
in the Service Complaints System by giving the Armed Forces the
ability to make changes to how appeals are managed in the future
for swifter outcomes that are fairer and in proportion to the
complaint.
