Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the service complaints system.

Service personnel deserve to have a fair and effective complaints system. I announced in March that we had been working for some time with Dr Atkins, the Service Complaints Commissioner, on proposals for a more efficient system.

In her most recent report, Dr Atkins concluded that she was optimistic that a fairer, more effective system has been agreed, and that, once implemented, Service personnel will have access to a redress system that they deserve. The bill introduced in the House of Lords on 5^th June 2014 will improve the system to make sure that is what they will get.