Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of measures to ensure that cases of (a) rape and (b) other serious offences committed in the UK by service personnel are tried in civilian courts.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
When deciding whether to prosecute, in the civilian Criminal Justice System or the Service Justice System, an offence committed in the UK by Service persons, prosecutors take into account the victim’s preference. These decisions are made by independent prosecutors on a case-by-case basis under protocols provided for under sections 320A to C of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
The report published by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate on 28 November 2024 “found good compliance with the protocols in place to govern where cases should be heard. All the cases we examined were in the correct jurisdiction and there was proper consideration of victims’ views when deciding on jurisdiction.”
A victim of a rape offence dealt with in the Service Justice System (SJS) will see their case come to trial quicker than in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales and are less likely to withdraw from proceedings.
Although the processes used across the two systems are not the same, investigations into adult rape-flagged offences in 2024 by civilian police take longer (326 days vs.147 days in the SJS for rape offences), with 59% of victims withdrawing during that time (vs. 24% in the SJS).
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) remove the upper age limit for entry into flying and other officer roles in the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department is assessing current policies and identifying those which obstruct individuals from joining the Armed Forces. It is essential that new entrants to the Armed Forces meet set requirements so that they are capable of successfully tackling the various challenges of Service life and the roles in which they will be expected to deploy. As part of this assessment, regulations concerning eligibility requirements, plus those supporting Armed Forces recruitment processes, will be revised and promulgated once finalised. I hope the Hon. Gentleman will understand that where policies are found to be reasonable they will be kept, and where changes are recommended, they will be enacted.