Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff will support the Armed Forces Commissioner; and what the annual cost of those staff will be.

The Armed Forces Commissioner is the first in a series of steps that will be taken by the new Government to improve Service life and renew the contract between the nation and those who serve.

The Armed Forces Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for Service personnel and their families to raise issues which impact on service life.

The Armed Forces Commissioner will have the power to investigate individual complaints and to proactively launch independent reviews into issues affecting Service personnel and their families more widely, and to lay those reports before Parliament. The new Commissioner will have a right of access to information, sites and personnel in order to fulfil their role. The Commissioner will incorporate the functions currently undertaken by the Service Complaints Ombudsman.

The Armed Forces Commissioner will strengthen Parliamentary oversight of issues facing our Armed Forces personnel and their families. The Commissioner will be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Defence Select Committee and will report directly to Parliament, not ministers, via an annual report.

There will be opportunities to debate all aspects of the role, remit and operation of Armed Forces Commissioner when the Government brings forward the Legislation outlined in the King’s Speech. Details on budget, pay, grade, staffing and office location will be set out in due course.