Written question asked by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 26 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 October 2006. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Complaints (Equipment)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel in (a) the Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force have initiated complaints procedures arising from concerns with equipment since 2003; and in how many cases in (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Navy and (iii) the Royal Air Force the complaint was upheld.

Answer: The MOD greatly values and actively encourages feedback from personnel on how equipment is performing, so that lessons can be learnt and improvements made where a need is identified. There are a number of ways available for members of the armed forces to raise issues, faults and suggestions for improvement to equipment, these include: via routine reporting through the chain of command; via the failure reporting analysis and corrective actions system; through the GEMS suggestion scheme or via the serious equipment failure investigation team.Specific information relating to the number of complaints raised and their outcomes is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information