Found: That requires some of the responses that you will see in the Armed Forces Bill that had its Second

Found: Letter from the Chair to the Minister for the Armed Forces dated 21 January regarding the Armed Forces Bill

Found: Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence on the Armed Forces Bill Correspondence

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: Act 2006 must be renewed by primary legislation every five years, with the next five-yearly Armed Forces Bill

Found: Switchboard) 4.4.2.14 10th October 2025 Dear Tan, The Committee will be aware that the Armed Forces Bill

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the Service Justice System.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reforms to strengthen and modernise the Service Justice System. As a result, investigations, prosecutions and victim support have all significantly improved in recent years. We want to build on the progress made and this is why the Armed Forces Bill strengthens how the Service Justice System tackles violence against women and girls, enhances support and rights for victims in the Service Justice System and, modernises investigation, charging and discipline procedures in the Service Justice System.

The Defence Serious Crime Command, launched in December 2022, operates independently of the Chain of Command, ensuring impartial investigations into serious offences committed in the UK and overseas. It is implementing the National Operating Model under Operation SOTERIA, in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing guidance. This ensures that investigations into rape and serious sexual offences are victim-centred, suspect-focused and consistent with nationally recognised policing standards. The Victim Witness Care Unit provides independent, trauma-informed, end-to-end support to victims and witnesses through dedicated Victim Liaison Officers and operates outside of the Armed Forces’ Chain of Command.

Noting the procedural differences between the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales and the Service Justice System, published administrative data drawn from the Criminal Justice System Delivery Dashboard and statistics on timeliness, victim withdrawal rates and conviction rates in adult-rape-flagged cases in the Service Justice System suggest that cases are dealt with much more quickly in the Service Justice System with a smaller proportion of victims withdrawing from proceedings. Following charge, adult-rape-flagged cases in 2024 reached an outcome in the Crown Court in 358 days with 19% of victims withdrawing from proceedings and 199 days in the Court Martial with no victims withdrawing from proceedings.

Whilst conviction rates cannot be reliably compared between the two systems due to differences in case volume, procedure, victim withdrawal rates and case profile, administrative data published in CPS quarterly data summaries and the above-mentioned statistics on timeliness, victim withdrawal rates and conviction rates in adult-rape-flagged cases in the Service Justice System also cast further doubt on claims that the conviction rate in the Crown Court is higher. Excluding guilty pleas, 51% of adult-rape-flagged cases in 2022 to 2024 in the Court Martial resulted in a conviction whereas 36% resulted in a conviction in the Crown Court.

In its November 2024 report regarding the Service Prosecuting Authority, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate stated that “the level of timeliness and support for victims in the Service Justice System is something we would like to see afforded to all victims in all jurisdictions.”

For more information on the statistics quoted above please see:

https://criminal-justice-delivery-data-dashboards.justice.gov.uk/all-metrics

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/service-justice-system-data-transparency-release/statistics-on-timeliness-victim-withdrawal-rates-and-conviction-rates-in-adult-rape-flagged-cases-in-the-service-justice-system

https://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/performance-management-and-case-outcomes/cps-quarterly-data-summaries

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Government ministers will be eligible to be called up to the armed forces following proposed changes to eligibility for the strategic reserve.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence has not done any such an assessment. It is the personal responsibility of all former Regular Service or current Volunteer Reserve Personnel, including Government Ministers, to determine whether they are affected by the Armed Forces Bill 2026 Reserves measures.

Any member of the Regular force or Volunteer Reserve on the day that the regulations come into force will be affected by these measures, though they will have the option to opt-out. Those who have already left the Regulars or Volunteer Reserve or if their liability stemming from Regular Service has now lapsed or they never had one, will not be affected. They will have the option, however, to opt in to the changes.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to include all (a) (i) UK and (ii) devolved government Departments and (b) policy areas.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government’s election manifesto committed to placing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law. During Armed Forces week in June, the Prime Minister announced that Service personnel, Veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central and devolved Governments for the first time under new plans to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to more policy areas and across the UK. It is our ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty across his Departmental responsibilities.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government’s election manifesto committed to placing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law. During Armed Forces week in June, the Prime Minister announced that Military personnel, veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central and devolved governments for the first time under new plans to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to more policy areas and across the UK.

The Covenant Legal Duty will now be extended from three policy areas to encompass 14 policy areas in a much broader scope. The policy areas are healthcare, education, housing, social care, childcare, employment and service in the Armed Forces, personal taxation, welfare benefits, criminal justice, immigration, citizenship, pensions, service-related compensation and transport. The Government aims to make the changes in the next Armed Forces Bill, anticipated in 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the introduction of the Armed Forces Covenant into law.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government’s election manifesto committed to placing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law. During Armed Forces week in June, the Prime Minister announced that Military personnel, Veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central and devolved Governments for the first time under new plans to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to more policy areas and across the UK.

It is our ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill, which is required every five years to continue to have an Armed Forces.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to standardise the criteria for reservist call-out liability across the Armed Forces services.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Under the forthcoming Armed Forces Bill, we will standardise some of the criteria governing this liability, for those personnel who will form the Strategic Reserve (personnel who leave Service and retain a liability to be called back into permanent Service). Call-out liability for personnel on leaving Regular Service is determined by individual circumstances. These include the Service they were part of, the individual commitment or contract that governed their Service, their age, and other specific terms of their discharge such as if for medical or disciplinary reasons.

The policies and processes that underpin call-out liability are under constant review, to ensure that they remain fit for purpose in the current geopolitical environment and beyond.

Found: Armed Forces Bill 2024-26

Found: Defence personnel will be given new powers through the Armed Forces Bill to defeat drones threatening

Found: Defence Housing Strategy’s £9.2 billion to improve more than 40,000 service family homes, the Armed Forces Bill

Found: The Armed Forces Bill, which will have its Second Reading in Parliament later today, delivers on the

Found: hands of serving members of the Armed Forces will receive stronger protections under the new Armed Forces Bill

Found: This new degree complements powers introduced through the Armed Forces Bill last week  to strengthen

Found: New measures are being introduced through the Armed Forces Bill to strengthen the UK’s Strategic Reserve

Found: New Defence Housing Service to transform housing for forces families as Armed Forces Bill backs those

Found: It is the MOD’s ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill.

Found: It is the MOD’s ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill, which is

Found: The Armed Forces Bill will deliver a new and independent Armed Forces Commissioner, supporting the

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: recommendations. 1.3 The department is planning to introduce legislative measures in the next Armed Forces Bill

Found: Defence Housing Strategy’s £9.2 billion to improve more than 40,000 service family homes, the Armed Forces Bill

Found: bill; the National Wealth Fund bill; the railways bill; the elections and democracy bill; the armed forces bill

Found: Item 5: UK government Armed Forces Bill- CAB(25-26)16 5.1 The First Minister informed Cabinet she had