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The new Service Complaints Ombudsman will improve the service complaints process. The Bill will strengthen independent oversight and streamline the complaints process. But it does not go far enough.
More steps must be taken to ensure that the Ombudsman is independent and clearly seen to be independent. Improvements are needed to the appointment process, and to the powers they are given to set their own agenda and to identify and highlight shortcomings. A strong independent Service Complaints Ombudsman will not undermine the chain of command, as some Service Chiefs have argued. Instead, it will build confidence in the chain of command as Service personnel see that their commanders take seriously their duty of care and are willing to rectify mistakes.
We have proposed a set of amendments to the Bill as follows:
1. Reinforcing the independence of the Ombudsman by excluding recently retired members of the Armed Forces;
2. Introducing a non-renewable term of appointment of between five and seven years;
3. Ensuring independent scrutiny and input into the regulations for making a complaint;
4. Coordinating the complaints procedures of the three armed services and improving the complaints record system;
5. Expanding the powers of the Ombudsman to investigate not simply 'maladministration' and injustice but also the substance of the complaint;
6. Clarifying the Ombudsman's powers over procedural rules in investigations;
7. Limiting the power of the Secretary of State to keep conclusions of complaints confidential;
8. Making the Ombudsman's recommendations binding on the Defence Council; and
9. Allowing the Ombudsman to investigate thematic issues.
We have also called for clarification of structures for independent oversight of the Service Police.
These amendments will strengthen the Ombudsman and increase transparency, accountability and predictability throughout the complaints system. They will further enshrine the independence of the Ombudsman, rebuild the confidence of Armed Forces personnel in the system, and equip the Ombudsman with a suite of powers to ensure that they could act as a custodian of a complaints system, which is truly efficient, effective and fair. The UK's Armed Forces deserve no less.
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