Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Armed Forces Bill: Special Report

22 April 2021 · 9 other contributors

Opened by James Sunderland Con Bracknell

DefenceVeterans

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

James Sunderland raised concerns about armed forces bill: special report in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The Armed Forces Bill Select Committee published a special report on the new Armed Forces Bill.
  • The minister thanked multiple stakeholders for their contributions to the report.
  • The report focuses on the armed forces covenant and service issues.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

James Sunderland

The Armed Forces Bill Select Committee, under the chairmanship of James Sunderland, has published its special report on the new Armed Forces Bill. The minister expressed gratitude to several stakeholders including the Backbench Business Committee, the Speaker's Office and Ministry of Defence staff, members of the committee, technical teams, and specifically mentioned Ms Yohanna Sallberg and Mr Matthew Congreve for their contributions. The report focuses on the armed forces covenant, service justice system, and service complaints system among other areas. Key recommendations include incorporating the armed forces covenant into law with statutory guidance to inform public bodies, conducting a review after two years on how this duty operates, reviewing effectiveness of the covenant annually, implementing reforms in the service justice system, improving the process for handling service complaints quickly while ensuring fair access, promoting diversity and restorative justice for veterans dismissed due to their sexuality, enhancing healthcare provision for veterans, and prioritising better accommodation within the Ministry of Defence. The minister emphasised the importance of maintaining Britain's best armed forces and being the best place in the world for veterans.

Other contributors (9)
  • Kevan Jones

    Question

    Congratulates James Sunderland on chairing the Committee effectively despite challenges posed by the pandemic and issues with statutory guidance. Highlights the importance of detailed scrutiny, suggesting a set period such as six months in future to ensure thorough examination.

    Minister reply

    Agrees that consensus among committee members was key to achieving outcomes and suggests a more consensual approach in future might pay dividends.

  • Bob Stewart Con Beckenham

    Question

    I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland), a good friend of mine, on the way he chaired this Committee, which was a difficult one to chair. May I ask him why the Committee did not feel it fit to look at health problems and care problems with regard to Northern Ireland, and at vexatious claims made against Northern Ireland veterans?

    Minister reply

    I thank my very good right hon. Friend for his question. The simple answer relating to Northern Ireland is that the legacy issues, very much in the news at the moment, are subject to separate work being led by the Northern Ireland Office, and the Ministry of Defence made it clear to me and the other members of the Committee that that would not be within the scope of this Bill.

  • Martin Docherty Lab West Dunbartonshire

    Question

    The Armed Forces Bill is something of a whirlwind, and all on the ad-hoc Bill Committee will have learned so much over the past couple of months. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate the hon. Member for Aldershot (Leo Docherty) on his appointment to the Front Bench—Dochertys seem to get everywhere. However, while there was much for us to be positive about and agree on, I cannot help but feel that we are at a crucial inflexion point in the way the armed forces are perceived.

    Minister reply

    I thank the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes) for his kind words, and also for the very positive way in which he and the hon. Member for Glasgow North West have engaged in the whole process.

  • Sara Britcliffe Con Hyndburn

    Question

    May I start by saying, on behalf of the 2019 intake, that we are all very proud that our hon. Friend was selected as the Chair of the Select Committee and of his making this statement to the House today? Across Hyndburn and Haslingden, we have tremendous respect and support for our armed forces both past and present, so can my hon. Friend explain in what way the Bill makes life fairer and better for our armed forces?

    Minister reply

    I thank my really good friend from Hyndburn for her very generous words. The simple answer is that the Bill does two things. First, it increases and improves the offer to all service personnel and veterans through the armed forces covenant.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Question

    I too congratulate the hon. Gentleman on setting the scene so well, and I thank him for all the hard work that he and his Committee did. I know the Armed Forces Bill contains the usual provision to deal with posthumous pardons, and I am looking to see if there is the possibility of providing for posthumous awards, such as for the legendary father of the SAS from my constituency of Strangford, Newtownards’s own Blair Mayne, whose courage, ability and leadership saw the award of the DSO on four separate occasions, yet the Victoria Cross was withheld. Is there scope in this Bill for the MOD, the Defence Committee or indeed the Minister for Defence People and Veterans himself to revisit this travesty, which should be rectified?

    Minister reply

    I thank my good friend from Strangford for his question, which is a good one with no ready answer. My simple view is that the honours and awards committee within the MOD provides that particular function.

  • Philip Hollobone Con Kettering

    Question

    I commend my hon. and gallant Friend for his statement and congratulate him on chairing the 10 meetings of the Select Committee and on the publication of its 102-page report. I was pleased to note that the Committee says on page 48: ‘The level of satisfaction for personnel and families living in Service housing is still too low.’ My hon. and gallant Friend wrote to the Secretary of State the next day, but according to the report, he has yet to receive a satisfactory explanation.

    Minister reply

    I thank my good friend from Kettering for his question. It is recognised from continuous attitude surveys that members of the armed forces are not fully satisfied with service accommodation.

  • Wendy Chamberlain Lib Dem North East Fife

    Question

    I thank the Chair of the Committee and its members for their work. The Armed Forces Bill does not directly reference enforcement mechanisms for ensuring that public bodies are held to account if a member of the armed forces community feels that they have not been treated correctly.

    Minister reply

    Without giving a glib answer, I urge the hon. Member to look at the special report. I believe that there is an obligation on the ombudsman to keep the pressure on the Ministry of Defence.

  • Stephen Morgan Lab Portsmouth South

    Question

    May I take this opportunity to thank the Chair, the Clerks and fellow members of the Committee for their dedication and hard work, as well as those who gave evidence to the Committee or responded to the survey? It was vital that the armed forces community had their say, to make this Bill better. Service charities have pointed out that the narrow focus of the Bill on healthcare, housing and education could create a two-tier armed forces covenant that reduces provision in those areas outside the scope of the Bill. Does the Chair agree with Labour that the Bill must cover all areas of the covenant if it is truly to bring it into law and eliminate the postcode lottery that many veterans face in accessing services?

    Minister reply

    I thank my good friend from Portsmouth South for his question and for the very positive way in which he and his party—and, indeed, the SNP—engaged throughout the process. He raises a valid point. The implementation of the covenant in law is restricted at this point in time to the three areas that I mentioned earlier: health, education and accommodation. The report lists those areas in which we feel that more work is needed. My sense is that the Ministry of Defence, over the next year or so and beyond, will be required to report on the effectiveness of implementation in those three areas. It will also be under increasing pressure to broaden the scope of the covenant in due course. Indeed, why should not social care and other aspects of public service provision be included? As a humble Back Bencher, I am sympathetic to the arguments that have been put forward, and I am sure the future rests with the Ministry of Defence as it take them forward.

Shadow Comment

Kevan Jones

Kevan Jones congratulated James Sunderland on chairing the Committee effectively despite challenges posed by the pandemic and issues with statutory guidance. He highlighted the importance of detailed scrutiny, suggesting a set period such as six months in future to ensure thorough examination.

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