Armed Forces Bill

What this bill does

Currently at Committee stage in the Lords.

Extends the Armed Forces Act and changes housing, justice, and support rules for service personnel.

This bill is the latest version of a wide-ranging update to UK armed forces law. It keeps the Armed Forces Act 2006 in force, strengthens the Armed Forces Covenant, creates a new Defence Housing Service, and adds new powers and protections in service justice, victim support, reserve forces, policing, and related defence bodies. The current version also includes rules on drones near defence sites, military remains, and other linked defence laws.

• Extend the Armed Forces Act 2006 for one year from Royal Assent, with power for the expiry to be extended by up to one further year by Order in Council, but not beyond 2031.
• Replace the existing armed forces covenant duty with a new duty on specified public bodies to have due regard to the covenant when exercising relevant functions on matters such as housing, health, education, employment, transport, social security, taxation, immigration and criminal justice.
• Create a Defence Housing Service with powers to manage defence housing and related property, regenerate sites, borrow with Treasury consent, receive staff and property transfers, and use compulsory purchase powers.
• Give authorised personnel power to use approved equipment against uncrewed devices near defence areas or defence property for national security purposes, including testing and training authorisations and limited seizure/retention powers.
• Introduce new service domestic abuse protection notices and orders, service stalking protection orders, notification requirements and guidance for Provost Marshals.
• Allow service courts to make sexual harm prevention orders and sexual risk orders in service cases, and create service image deletion orders for certain intimate image offences.
• Expand support for victims of service offences through a new code of practice, guidance on victim support roles, and changes to complaints and oversight routes.
• Change investigation, arrest, custody and charging rules in the service justice system, including a service policing protocol, new post-charge conditions, revised custody rules, and a time limit for charging certain summary offences.
• Update powers and punishments for commanding officers, service courts, driving disqualification orders, rehabilitation periods, and spent cautions in some military administrative decisions.
• Expand the Armed Forces Commissioner’s functions to cover the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and create related reporting and investigatory powers.
• Change reserve force call-out and recall arrangements, create new transitional classes, and establish the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association in place of existing associations.
• Alter parliamentary control provisions for armed forces and reserve force numbers and commitments, and make related amendments for visiting forces, the Ministry of Defence Police, the Oil and Pipelines Agency, and military remains.

The stage line is the same Parliament bill record as the heading. The summary is AI-generated and not independently reviewed. Report an error.

Progress

1. 1st reading · Commons
2. 2nd reading · Commons
3. Programme motion · Commons
4. Money resolution · Commons
5. Carry-over motion · Commons
6. Committal (to a Select Committee) · Commons
7. Select Committee stage · Commons
8. Bill reintroduced · Commons
9. Programme motion · Commons
10. Committee of the whole House · Commons
11. Report stage · Commons
12. 3rd reading · Commons
13. 1st reading · Lords
14. 2nd reading · Lords
15. Committee stage · Lords
16. Report stage · Lords