Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to legislate to give members of the armed forces full access to employment tribunals.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Members of the Armed Forces have access to employment tribunals concerning a claim under the Equality Act 2010 in connection with certain allegations of discrimination. An employment tribunal will normally wait for the service complaints process to be finished before hearing any case. We have no current plans to broaden these provisions.
If a Service person has a valid grievance on any other matter relating to their service in the Armed Forces, they may make a service complaint and seek redress. The role of the Service Complaints Ombudsman was created to give complainants who are not satisfied with the outcome or handling of their complaint an independent route to addressing their concerns and to increase the level of independent oversight.
In certain circumstances, if the complainant remains unhappy with either the decision of the Ministry of Defence or the Ombudsman, they may also challenge those decisions by way of Judicial Review.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide (1) support, and (2) funding, for veterans who find themselves subject to complaints relating to when they served in the armed forces.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Veterans facing criminal allegations relating to their service in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan are provided with fully funded legal representation, for as long as it is necessary. In addition, the Ministry of Defence is committed to providing high quality welfare and pastoral support to all those veterans affected by historic investigations. Veterans can access this support through the Veterans Welfare Service, part of Veterans UK, on 0808 1914 2 18.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to strengthen the powers of the Service Complaints Ombudsman and, in particular, to make the Ombudsman’s recommendations legally binding.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The powers of the Service Complaints Ombudsman were subject to extensive consideration during the passage of The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Act 2015. We have no current plans to change those powers.
As I have stated in my previous answer to the noble Lady's Question HL5618 on 6 March 2018, recommendations made by the Ombudsman are not legally binding, but they do have considerable weight. The expectation is that the Services will follow recommendations made by the Ombudsman, unless there are good, cogent and defensible reasons not to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the findings and recommendations of the Service Complaint Ombudsman are legally binding on the Ministry of Defence; and if not, what further recourse is open to service personnel with a grievance.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Should the Service Complaints Ombudsman accept for investigation an allegation made by a complainant alleging that either the Service has erred in a decision concerning the admissibility of a complaint or whether an appeal can be proceeded with against a decision on a Service complaint, then the findings of the Ombudsman are binding. Should the complainant disagree with the Ombudsman’s findings in these instances, the mechanism for challenging the findings would be by judicial review.
In all other complaints which are accepted by the Ombudsman for investigation, the Ombudsman must prepare a report setting out the findings and any recommendations. Recommendations made by the Ombudsman are not binding but do have considerable weight. The expectation is that the Services will follow recommendations made unless there are good, cogent and defensible reasons not to do so.
The Ombudsman must send a copy of the report to the Service, who must consider it and notify the Ombudsman and the complainant in writing giving reasons of the action (if any) they decide to take in response to the findings and recommendations.
Where the Service decide to reject a recommendation, they must notify the Ombudsman and the complainant, giving the reasons. If the complainant believes that the Service or the Ministry of Defence has not acted reasonably in response to the Ombudsman’s recommendations, it is open to them to challenge the Ministry of Defence by way of judicial review.