Key Facts

• Clause 2 aims to align the Court Martial system with civilian jury systems.
• Currently, only officers and warrant officers can be lay members; the clause will allow OR-7 ranks to participate as well.
• The number of lay members on a court martial board will be fixed at six or three, depending on case severity.
• Qualified majority voting is introduced for verdicts with at least five out of six lay members agreeing.
• Judge Lyons recommended opening courts martial to OR-7 but was unable to justify excluding those with substantial service under OR-7.
• Serving personnel and former service members view current judicial processes as not holding high regard.
• The amendment aims to make the military process more reflective of real military life.
• Amendment 19 aims to ensure murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, and rape are tried in civilian courts when committed in the UK.
• Judge Shaun Lyons's 2020 service justice system review recommended that court martial jurisdiction should no longer include murder, manslaughter, and rape committed in the UK.
• The conviction rate for rape cases at court martial was only 10% between 2015 and 2019 compared to 59% in civilian courts during the same period.
• The amendment goes beyond the Lyons review recommendation by preventing murder, manslaughter, and rape committed in the UK from being tried in the service justice system.
• Clause 7 places a duty on heads of service and civilian prosecution authorities to agree guidance on jurisdiction decisions where there is concurrent jurisdiction.
• New section 320B of the 2006 Act provides for consultation with the Lord Advocate, Director of Service Prosecutions, Secretary of State, Chief Constable of Police Scotland, or other relevant person before agreeing a protocol.
• The amendment in question aims to change how serious crimes committed by military personnel are handled.
• The amendment was debated but subsequently withdrawn, with the possibility of reintroducing it at a later stage.
• Confidence in the current military justice system and its ability to handle serious cases is questioned.
• Amendments 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are proposed to address various functions under the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Amendment 3 aims to place legal responsibility for the covenant on central government and devolved administrations.
• Amendments propose regulations that must be approved by both Houses of Parliament.
• Amendments 3 to 6 aim to hold central Government accountable to the covenant.
• Amendment 7 aims to widen the scope of the Bill to cover employment, pensions, compensation, social care, criminal justice and immigration.
• The current drafting excludes serving personnel from benefiting from the Bill's provisions.
• Clause 8 amends part 16A of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
• The new sections (343AA to 343AD) impose a duty on public bodies in health, housing, and education across the UK's four nations.
• Section 343AE allows the Secretary of State to issue guidance on the new duty after consulting relevant authorities.
• Section 343AF permits the Secretary of State to widen the scope of the duty through affirmative regulations.
• The Armed Forces Bill aims to put the Armed Forces Covenant into law.
• Local authorities and local health boards are being emphasized in the Bill's implementation.
• The speaker supports amendments that would include central government departments under the scope of due regard for the covenant.
• There is a focus on ensuring proper housing provision and other services for armed forces personnel, families, and veterans.
• Amendment 20 aims to retain the six-week appeal period for service complaints cases.
• New clause 9 would expand the powers of the Service Complaints Ombudsman to include matters relating to the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Former service complaints ombudsman, Nicola Williams, stated that reducing the time to appeal from six weeks to two weeks is not appropriate given current delays in the system.
• Clause 10 reduces the minimum time limit for submitting an appeal from six weeks to two weeks.
• Schedule 3 amends equality legislation to ensure consistency with changes in Clause 10.
• The Wigston review highlighted a lack of confidence in the current service complaints system.
• The previous Service Complaints Ombudsman's annual reports noted inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in the complaints process.
• Clause 11 amends the Armed Forces Act 2006.
• A Service Police Complaints Commissioner is proposed to oversee a new regime for complaints and conduct matters.
• Regulations will be made under proposed section 340P of the Armed Forces Act.
• The proposal includes a separate ombudsman or complaints procedure for service police.
• Kevan Jones inquired about how this will be communicated to service personnel.
• Questions were raised regarding whether civilian contractors and family members of service personnel can also make complaints.
• Clause 18 amends section 164 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.
• It extends posthumous pardons for historical service offences from before 1881 for men who served in the Army or Royal Marines.
• The RAF is not affected as it was constituted in 1917.
• New Clause 1 raises the age of recruitment into the Armed Forces to 18, in line with NATO allies and UN standards.
• New Clause 2 ensures that service personnel aged under 18 are not required to serve for a longer period than adult service personnel.
• The proposed amendments aim to protect younger recruits by aligning terms and conditions with those applicable to adult personnel.
• Each year, over 2,000 young people aged 16 and 17 are enlisted in the British armed forces.
• From 2015 to 2018, nearly a third of Army recruits aged 16 and 17 dropped out before completing phase 2 training.
• Most NATO allies recruit exclusively those aged 18 or over.
• An Army recruit who enlists at age 16 or 17 must serve until they turn 22, committing up to six years of service while still a minor.
• Individuals under 18 cannot be sent into combat.
• Recruitment of 16 to 17-year-olds provides opportunities for those who may have been failed by the education system.
• The Army Foundation College in Harrogate offers a second chance with improving basic numeracy and literacy skills.
• Ofsted inspects places like the Army Foundation College to ensure duty of care.
• Close attention has been given to recruitment policies after tragic deaths at Deepcut.
• No one under the age of 18 can join without formal parental consent checked twice during application.
• Service personnel under 18 are not deployed on hostile operations or those exposing them to hostilities outside the UK.
• All recruits, regardless of age, have a right to discharge within their first three to six months if they decide the armed forces is not for them.
• Over 80% of all recruits enrol in apprenticeship programmes provided by the armed forces across various specialisations.
• Ofsted has documented significant improvements over the last decade in areas such as support with English and maths, care leavers' support, injury reduction, retention rates, communication with parents, staff selection, training, and development.
• The new clause requires the Secretary of State to publish a report within 12 months after the Act is passed.
• The report must include definitions of 'priority care' as set out in the Armed Forces Covenant.
• It will also review waiting time targets for service personnel and veterans accessing mental health support.
• The Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2020 acknowledges confusion about what priority care means.
• The average waiting time for a TILS face-to-face appointment in 2019-20 was 37 days, missing the target of 14 days.
• A dashboard monitors waiting times for TILS, CTS, and HIS across the country.