Service Complaints Commissioner

"The men and women who serve with our Armed Forces are trained to act with professionalism, integrity and respect for others and ultimately to lay down their lives for our country. They deserve to be treated well and, where they feel they are not, to have their complaints handled properly.

For four years I have been unable to assure Ministers and Parliament that the Service Complaints system was working efficiently, effectively or fairly and recommended that an Armed Forces Ombudsman be established. That has not been accepted but my powers have been strengthened from 1 January 2013 to help tackle delay and poor handling of complaints more effectively. I still firmly believe that an Armed Forces Ombudsman is required to ensure the fair treatment of Service Personnel as part of the Armed Forces Covenant."