Even though most of us are contributing from home, Monday night is still the late night as far as the Commons is concerned (because the sitting starts later to allow Members from all over the country to travel down). Tonight I just squeezed in as the last backbench speaker in the debate on the Second Reading of the Armed Forces Bill.
Parliament is actually required to pass a new law every 5 years mandating the continuation of our Armed Forces. This is because the Bill of Rights, passed in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution, includes the provision that "keeping a standing army in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law."
In addition to this statutory requirement, the Bill before Parliament today also:
Enshrines the Armed Forces Covenant into law – ensuring all UK Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families are treated fairly. Focusing on healthcare, housing and education, by enshrining the Armed Forces Covenant into law we will increase awareness among public bodies of the unique nature of military service, improving the level of service for members of the armed forces community, no matter where in the UK they live.
Makes improvements to the Service Justice System, ensuring personnel have a clear, fair and effective route to justice wherever they are operating. We are providing clearer guidance for prosecutors on how serious crimes committed by service personnel in the UK should be handled, by placing a Duty on the Director of Service Prosecutions and the Director of Public Prosecutions to to agree protocols on the handling of cases where there is concurrent jurisdiction.
Creates an independent body to oversee Service Justice complaints. This new body, overseen by a Service Police Complaints Commissioner, will ensure there is an independent route of redress if someone is dissatisfied with the Service Police.
Makes the complaints system more efficient. By bringing the time given to personnel to lodge an appeal in line with those offered in the private sector, we can help make the entire system more efficient.
You can watch my contribution here: https://facebook.com/AaronBell4NUL/videos/441264610452178/