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 bringing forward legislative proposals to make the Armed Forces Covenant statutory.

The Government has met its manifesto commitment to strengthen the Armed Forces Covenant in law by introducing a statutory Covenant Duty through the Armed Forces Act 2021, to raise awareness of, and help promote better outcomes for, the Armed Forces community when accessing key public services.

During the passage of the Armed Forces Act, the Ministry of Defence committed to review whether central government should be included within the scope of the duty, and to report back to Parliament in the 2023 Covenant and Veterans Annual Report. Overall, the review found that the UK Government and Devolved Administrations are already implementing the Armed Forces Covenant as a matter of Government policy. We are committed to further strengthening of the Covenant and are actively looking at options.