Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the procedure is for addressing complaints raised by black, Asian, minority ethnic and female military personnel.

The purpose of the Service Complaints system is to provide all serving and former Service personnel with a process that is fair, effective and efficient and one, in which they can have confidence to raise matters of concern relating to their Service, and to seek redress. It is the responsibility of all those involved to ensure that complaints are handled confidentially, fairly, promptly and correctly.

Once a Service Complaint has been received, the procedures for handling and deciding a complaint are set out in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 831: Redress of Individual Grievances: Service Complaints. This JSP contains the policy and direction on Service Complaints and guidance on the processes involved and best practice to apply.