Lords Grand Committee

14 September 2026

Contents updated on 14 Sept 2026

The Minister presents the 2026 Armed Forces service complaints regulations, explaining the new ‘appropriate person’ concept and limits on complaints about procedural appeal-admissibility decisions, and responds to concerns about fairness, rights, and impact on the chain of command before the Committee approves the instrument.

Chamber Mon, 14 Sept 2026 House of Lords

00:04 - 00:12

Speaker 2

Armed Forces Service Complaints Miscellaneous Provisions Amendment Regulations 2026, Baroness Anderson.

00:12 - 02:33

Speaker 3

I beg to move that the Grand Committee do consider the draft Armed Forces Service Complaints Miscellaneous Provisions Amendment Regulations 2026. My Lords, these regulations were laid before both Houses on the 29th June 2026. They make consequential amendments to the Armed Forces Service Complaints Miscellaneous Provisions Regulations 2015, following amendments introduced through the Armed Forces Commissioner Act 2025. For ease of reference, I'll refer to these as the 2015 regulations. The draft regulations here introduce two principal amendments.

First, they amend the 2015 regulations to replace references to the appropriate officer with references to the appropriate person. This allows for suitably qualified civilians as well as military personnel to carry out specified administrative functions within the service complaints system, including liaising with the Armed Forces Commissioner and providing updates on the progress and outcome of service complaints. The regulations also include a transitional provision to ensure existing cases continue smoothly when the changes come into force. Second, the regulations amend the list of matters which may not be the subject of a service complaint. Specifically, they provide that decisions relating to whether an appeal has been brought on valid grounds cannot themselves be challenged through the service complaints process.

This ensures that the system is not burdened with complaints concerning procedural admissibility decisions and supports the efficient operation of the service complaints process. Overall, the amendments provide greater flexibility and efficiency in the administration of the system while maintaining existing safeguards and preserving service personnel's rights. The amendment permitting suitably qualified civilians to undertake specified administrative functions within the service complaints system was requested by the single services themselves to provide greater flexibility in administering the system. The amendments will be implemented through existing service complaints processes and procedures. Any necessary guidance and administrative instructions will be updated to reflect the changes made by the regulations.

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