This Act delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to strengthen support for Armed Forces communities by establishing an independent Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life. The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey 1 has shown a fall in morale in the UK Armed Forces over the last decade and has also indicated systemic challenges in terms of retaining personnel. The German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces has provided the inspiration for this Act Feedback on the German Commissioner demonstrates strong support from German personnel for this role. The Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces established by the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Act 2015 provides independent and impartial oversight to the Service Complaints System, helps Armed Forces personnel access the complaints system and provides oversight for specific service complaints. The Ombudsman does not however have wider reaching functions to allow broader matters impacting welfare of serving personnel to be considered.
	This Act establishes an independent Commissioner to serve as a direct point of contact for Armed Forces personnel and their families. The Commissioner considers, investigates and makes recommendations to address welfare issues faced by serving personnel and their families during the course of their service life. To achieve this, the Armed Forces Commissioner has a wide remit to carry out their own investigations into issues facing Service Personnel and set out their recommendations in reports to be laid before Parliament. The Commissioner also absorbs the functions of the existing Service Complaints Ombudsman.
	The Act gives the Commissioner the following powers to carry out this function. The Commissioner:
receives representations from Service Personnel and their families wishing to raise issues which impact on service life.
has the powers and discretion necessary to decide what matters they investigate and make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Defence. Investigations will be into matters that materially impact the welfare of Service personnel or their families, which occur in connection with Service life.
strengthens parliamentary oversight of issues facing Armed Forces personnel. The Commissioner is subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Commons Defence Select Committee and is able to highlight concerns to Parliament through their Annual and Thematic Reports. It is anticipated that not every investigation will require a Thematic Report and findings of smaller investigations will instead be included in the Annual Report.
has powers to access Service premises in the United Kingdom unannounced and perform any necessary investigations whilst there, including viewing and taking copies of documents. These visits will also enable them to understand the realities of service life and engage informally with Service Personnel and their families. Premises are any place, including any vehicle, ship or aircraft and any tent or movable structure occupied for the purposes of UK Armed Forces, however the Commissioner is not able to access any private dwelling or Service accommodation without the invitation of the person(s) living there.
the Commissioner will only be denied access to an establishment and the information within (generally or in a particular case) by the Secretary of State if it is in the interest of national security or for the safety of any person. The Commissioner may also not investigate anything they believe is subject to legal privilege nor can they require a person to do anything that the person could not be compelled to do in civil proceedings before the High Court (or, in Scotland, the Court of session).
Policy background