Legal background
The legislation relating to the existing system for the redress of service complaints is set out in a combination of primary and subordinate legislation. The current provisions are:
sections 334 to 339 and 366 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, which include changes made by the Armed Forces Act 2011
the Armed Forces (Redress of Individual Grievances) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3353)
the Armed Forces (Service Complaints Commissioner) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3352)
the Armed Forces Redress of Individual Grievances (Procedures and Time Limits) Regulations 2007. These can be found on the MOD's gov.uk website at annex D of Joint Service Publication 831 "Redress of Individual Grievances: Service Complaints Issue 2.2" via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/27866/jsp831_v22.pdf.
The Armed Forces Act 2006 will continue to be the main Act dealing with complaints within the armed forces, and this Bill inserts new provisions into the 2006 Act.