---

Armed Forces Bill

This is a key element of the Bill. Before speaking to government amendments, I shall respond to Amendment No. 164. It is important to point out to the noble and gallant Lord that his amendment would prevent the Secretary of State excluding certain matters from the service complaints process. However, there are a number of situations in which a specialised procedure suited to deal with particular areas of complaint already exists. We need to prevent the redress system becoming overburdened by cases for which an alternative procedure is better, but we recognise the sensitivity of the power, as the noble and gallant Lord highlighted, and have accepted the recommendation of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of this House that the powers should be exercisable only subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. We are tabling an amendment to Clause 366 to provide for this. Clause 332 already allows time limits to be laid down for bringing complaints. Government Amendment No. 164A allows regulations to be made setting out time limits for a matter to be referred to a higher level—a superior officer or the Defence Council. The aim is to reduce delays caused by the current absence of time limits on applying to take a complaint to the next level. Government Amendments Nos. 169A, 169B, 186B and 201ZB introduce the service complaints commissioner. Noble Lords will remember that on 13 June the Government published their response to the report of the Deepcut review by Nicholas Blake QC and that a Statement on our intention to introduce a service complaints commissioner was made in another place. In the light of the tragic events at Deepcut, the Government recognised that there were three key needs. First, there should be an independent element in the investigation and decision of complaints in cases of bullying and other misconduct. Secondly, there must be a way for people to ensure that allegations of such misconduct can be brought to the attention of the redress system and the victim given an opportunity to complain. Thirdly, there should be independent oversight of the performance of the system as a whole, with direct reports to Parliament and direct access to Ministers. The first need will be met by the inclusion in such cases of an independent member of the service complaints panel. The second need will be met by providing access to the system to outsiders to ensure that a complaint can be brought and that independent review is possible. Government Amendments Nos. 169A, 169B and 186B provide the commissioner with the power to refer allegations of certain types of wrongdoing against members of the services to an officer, usually the commanding officer of the alleged victim. That officer will have a duty to inform the alleged victim about the allegation and find out whether he wants to make a complaint about the alleged wrong. The officer will also ensure that the alleged victim knows about how to make a service complaint and about any time limits under the legislation. Anyone may make allegations to the commissioner—a friend of the alleged victim, for example, or member of the same family. Secondary legislation will define the types of allegation to which these provisions will apply, so that they cover those related to discrimination, bullying, harassment or other forms of misconduct. Secondary legislation will also provide for the commissioner to be informed about the progress and outcome of referred complaints. We are introducing an amendment to Clause 366 to provide for these regulations to be subject to affirmative procedure, and I shall refer to this again when we deal with the amendment. To meet the third need, the commissioner will have a statutory role of reviewing the fairness and effectiveness of the service complaints system. He or she will have direct access to Ministers. The amendments will also require the commissioner to provide the Secretary of State with an annual report on the system to be laid before Parliament. Amendments Nos. 170 and 189 also propose the introduction of a service complaints commissioner. Some of the noble Lords’ proposals coincide with those of the Government. However, Amendment No. 189—