Armed Forces Bill

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mark Lancaster)]

We have had a useful and interesting debate. It is a pleasure to follow a veteran such as the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones). Compared with him, I feel like a mere newcomer as this will be only my second Armed Forces Bill. I am most grateful to hon. Members on both sides of the House for the contributions they have made and I thank them for their interest.

Unusually for the Ministry of Defence, this is the third piece of substantive legislation we have introduced in the past two years, the other two being the Defence Reform Act 2014 and the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Act 2015. I am grateful to the hon. Member for North Durham for his positive comments as the ombudsman starts her new role early in the new year. It is not too surprising that the Armed Forces Bill we have introduced this year is relatively modest and focused mainly on the service justice system. Modest it may be, but that in no way diminishes the significance of its provisions, as it provides for the continuation of the single system of service law under the Armed Forces Act 2006 which applies to all members of the armed forces, wherever in the world they are serving.

As we heard during today’s debate, this Bill mostly covers a small number of issues relevant to the service justice system, plus the wider defence issue concerning statutory powers for MOD firefighters, which I will come to in a moment. Hon. Members raised a number of points about these proposals and also about issues that we have not included in the Bill. Indeed, much of the discussion seems to have been on issues that are not included in the Bill. I shall attempt to deal with as many of these as I can, and undertake to write to anybody to whom I fail to give an answer today.

My hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti) made a passionate and well-informed speech on behalf of the armed forces, based in no small part on his own service, to which I pay tribute. My hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Mrs Murray) has a long-standing family connection to the armed forces and asked some detailed questions about Devonport, about which I will write to her in due course. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) made a plea for more investment in technology. He may be aware of the announcement by the Secretary of State of an innovation fund as part of the strategic defence and security review, and the increasing work of the defence growth partnerships. I encourage him to visit Army headquarters in his constituency, which I would be delighted to arrange. In fact, I sense an invitation winging its way to him as we speak.

My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Drummond) made a passionate speech. I am not sure I was entirely grateful to her for reminding me that it is 27 years since I went to Sandhurst, but I was cheered up to turn around and see my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart). I think it may be a few more than 27 years since he went there. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South gave a powerful speech focusing on many areas of the military covenant, in particular mental health. This is a key area and she will be aware of the improvements that have been made in recent times, partly as a result of the “Fighting Fit” report by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison). I join her in commending the charity Combat Stress, which was the first charity I visited after taking up my appointment.

I shall respond to the contributions from other hon. Members as I touch briefly on some of the clauses in the Bill, but only those that were referred to during the debate. In her opening comments the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) raised the issue of visiting foreign forces being subject to the Act. I acknowledge her concerns and look forward to exploring the matter in Committee. I draw the attention of the House to the recent Westminster Hall debate on the unfortunate events at Bassingbourn, in which the current Government position was outlined.

Clauses 3 to 5 simplify the process of charging offences under the 2006 Act. Both my hon. Friends the Members for Beckenham and for Filton and Bradley Stoke sought reassurance about the role of the commanding officer. Commanding officers will continue to be concerned with probably over 90% of service issues. It will be only about 10% of issues that they will not deal with directly, but they will continue to be kept firmly informed of what is going on.

The hon. Members for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) and for Garston and Halewood asked why sexual assault was not included among the most serious offences in schedule 2. I want to make it clear at the outset that sexual assault is absolutely unacceptable in wider society or in the armed forces. Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act 2006 sets out the most serious disciplinary and criminal offences, including murder, kidnapping, grievous bodily harm and rape. A commanding officer must make the service police aware of an allegation or circumstance which indicates that a schedule 2 offence may have been committed. To move sexual assault to schedule 2 would make it a legal requirement for every allegation of sexual assault—an offence which covers a wide range of conduct—to be referred directly to the service police, whether or not the victim wanted that to happen.

We take the view that there are already processes and safeguards in place to ensure that victims of such offences are properly supported and that any allegations are properly investigated. All commanding officers are under a legal duty to ensure that all offences are investigated appropriately. Guidance given to commanding officers makes it clear when it would be appropriate to make the service police aware of an allegation. Guidance also sets out clearly the way in which these cases should be handled and the support that is to be provided to victims. We believe that the current legal arrangements and the guidance to commanding officers provide an appropriate framework for investigating these offences, but I accept once again that that could be discussed in Committee.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) mentioned sexual harassment. This is as much about changing culture as it is about legislation. The Chief of the General Staff has made addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity a priority in order to ensure that the Army is a modern employer that is capable of recruiting talent from all sections of society. The Army’s change programme on maximising talent, which the Chief of the General Staff launched on 19 June, demonstrates the progressive nature of the measures being taken to ensure that talent is able to thrive, regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

The survey was conducted between March and April 2014 and was sent to over 24,000 regular and reserve men and women, and over 7,000 responses were received. The overall conclusion from the survey was that there is an issue with an overly sexualised culture in which inappropriate behaviour is deemed acceptable. Although that does reflect wider society, the Army’s values and standards mean that it should not be accepted as the norm. I am delighted that the Chief of the General Staff is taking action to address that through his leadership code.

Clauses 14 and 15 deal with the powers of MOD firefighters in an emergency. I would like to reassure Opposition Members that the Chief Fire Officers Association was consulted and that the letter was published on its members’ forum, advising all chief fire officers in England and Wales of the provisions. Only Hampshire fire and rescue service responded, and it was positive about the provisions.

The hon. Members for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O'Hara), for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman) and for East Renfrewshire (Kirsten Oswald) all touched, understandably, on matters relating to Scotland. With regard to manpower in Scotland, there are currently 9,400 military personnel and 3,770 civilian personnel based in Scotland. The UK is delivering on a realistic plan for defence. The number of military personnel in Scotland is actually set to increase, but it is also likely to be affected by the SDSR, which will be published in due course.

The number of personnel at various locations across the UK, including Scotland, will fluctuate as the military make the necessary changes in unit moves to deliver the Future Force 2020 basing lay-down and target strength. The UK Government’s basing plans, which were announced last year, offer clarity and stability in our defence footprint in Scotland. That is a visible sign of our commitment to Scotland and to Scotland’s continued vital role in defence. On current plans, by 2020 Scotland will be home to all Royal Navy submarines, one of the Army’s seven adaptable force brigades and one of the three RAF fast jet main operating bases. Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde is already the single largest employment site in Scotland. Overall, employment figures will rise to 8,200 by 2020.

Hon. Members also touched on armed forces representation. Representation and safeguarding the wellbeing of service personnel are vital functions of the armed forces chain of command. The MOD recognises the British Armed Forces Federation and other such organisations as effective mechanisms by which the views of service personnel can become known. Service personnel are free to join them, provided they do not take a particularly active part in any political activity. To be honest, we are not aware of any groundswell of opinion from members of our armed forces that the remit of the armed forces federations should be extended or that they should be established on a statutory basis.

As I have made clear, the Bill is important to the armed forces, not least because it renews the legislation necessary for them to exist as disciplined forces. As the debate has demonstrated, it is also important to us here in Parliament, because it provides for our scrutiny of that legislation. That scrutiny is achieved by means of an annual continuation order, which must be approved by both Houses, and by primary legislation every five years.

I have a personal interest in this Bill. As a member of the reserve forces, I have been subject to the provisions of the 2006 Act, and many friends and colleagues still are. I also take very seriously the obligations that I have to the men and women who choose to abide by the high standards of discipline and behaviour that this Bill supports. I very much look forward to taking it through the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Armed Forces Bill (Programme)

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)),

That the following provisions shall apply to the Armed Forces Bill:

Select Committee

(1) The Bill shall be committed to a Select Committee.

(2) The Select Committee shall report the Bill to the House on or before 17 December 2015.

Committee of the whole House, Consideration and Third Reading

(3) On report from the Select Committee, the Bill shall be re-committed to a Committee of the whole House.

(4) Proceedings in Committee of the whole House on re-committal, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall be taken in one day in accordance with the following provisions of this Order.

(5) Proceedings in Committee of the whole House and any proceedings on Consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour before the moment of interruption on the day on which proceedings in Committee of the whole House are commenced.

(6) Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on that day.

Programming committee

(7) Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to proceedings in Committee of the whole House, to any proceedings on Consideration or to proceedings on Third Reading.

Other proceedings

(8) Any other proceedings on the Bill (including any proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments or on any further messages from the Lords) may be programmed.—(George Hollingbery.)

Question agreed to.

ARMED FORCES BILL (SELECT COMMITTEE)

Ordered,

That the following provisions shall apply to the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill:

(1) The Committee shall have 14 members, to be nominated by the Committee of Selection.

(2) The Committee shall have power—

(a) to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place and to report from day to day the minutes of evidence taken before it;

(b) to admit the public during the examination of witnesses and during consideration of the Bill (but not otherwise); and

(c) to appoint specialist advisers either to supply information not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity relating to the provisions of the Bill.—(George Hollingbery.)