Armed Forces Bill

Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Antrobus

3rd reading
Tuesday 27th October 2026 Lords Chamber

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I have it in command from His Majesty the King to acquaint the House that His Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Armed Forces Bill, has consented to place his interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Antrobus) (Lab)]

My Lords, I will make a short statement on the position regarding legislative consent on the Bill. I am pleased to inform the House that legislative consent has been secured from both the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd, and I thank Ministers and officials in both Governments for their constructive engagement throughout the Bill’s passage.

Despite engagement with Northern Ireland Ministers and officials, it has not been possible to secure an agreed position from the Northern Ireland Executive. I therefore regret to inform the House that legislative consent has not been secured from the Northern Ireland Assembly.

However, having carefully considered the position, the Government have concluded that there are compelling reasons to proceed with the Bill without consent. First, the proposed extension of the covenant duty in Clause 2 seeks to ensure that the public bodies within its scope give due regard to the needs of serving personnel, veterans and their families, including the bereaved, when exercising relevant functions. Excluding Northern Ireland would leave a gap in the coverage of the extended duty, resulting in different statutory requirements depending on where members of the Armed Forces community live.

Secondly, excluding Northern Ireland from the relevant service justice provisions would create a gap in the protection available for victims. For these reasons, while we regret that consent has not been secured, we consider it necessary to proceed, so that the benefits and protections of these provisions extend across the whole of the United Kingdom. I beg to move that this Bill now be read a third time.