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Written question asked by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 5 February 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 February 2025. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Friday, 14 February 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many more service complaints they expect to receive following the enactment of the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill and its provision for families to submit such complaints; and what estimate they have made of the budget uplift required to deal with any such increase.

Answer

While the Armed Forces Commissioner will absorb the functions of the existing Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces, the Bill does not make any substantive changes to the Service Complaints System. Families will not be able to access the Service Complaints system, which is specifically designed for serving personnel. The Bill focuses instead on the additional powers and functions the Commissioner will have to launch and report on investigations into general service welfare matters.

The Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for service families, providing a route for families to raise concerns on matters which could form the topic of a service welfare investigation. The financial implications of establishing and maintaining the office of the Armed Forces Commissioner, with their additional functions, are estimated to be within the range of £4.5 - £5.5m per year. This is only an initial estimate and represents a significant uplift on the annual running costs of the Service Complaints Ombudsman. The 2023 expenditure for the Service Complaints Ombudsman was in the region of £1.8m.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4758
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Complaints Armed forces Finance
Legislation
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill 2024-26
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk