Armed forces
Armed forces news from UK Parliament.
Legislation alone not enough to fix Armed Forces Covenant that is "falling short"
The Defence Committee today (Tuesday 8 April) publishes its report “The Armed Forces Covenant”.
07 April 2025
Lords conclude Armed Forces Commissioner Bill checks
Members considered changes to draft law. Catch up
25 March 2025
Women in the Armed Forces: what progress has been made?
The Defence Committee is assessing progress on its predecessor Committee’s work on women in the Armed Forces, hearing from witnesses across the Ministry of Defence (MOD) including the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
14 March 2025
International Women’s Day: Defence Committee to hold women in the Armed Forces session
The Defence Committee will hold a session this month following up on the previous Committee’s work on women in the Armed Forces. Details of the session will be announced shortly.
07 March 2025
Minister for Veterans and People to face questions on the Armed Forces Covenant
The Defence Committee will hold the final evidence session of its inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant at 13.00 on Tuesday 11 March.
07 March 2025
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill centre of Lords debate
Members of the Lords debate the key principles and main purpose of the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill. Catch up
06 March 2025
Government accepts majority of Committee’s recommendations on improving Service Accommodation
The Defence Committee today publishes the Government response to its report on Service Accommodation, in which the Government accepts the majority of the Committee’s recommendations for improving the quality of accommodation available to Service Personnel.
03 March 2025
Former MI6 Chief Sir Alex Younger to discuss grey zone threats
Former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Alex Younger, will give evidence to the Defence Committee. The Committee will examine the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD’s) contribution towards combatting grey zone threats – threats that fall below the perceived threshold for military action – such as sabotaging undersea cables.
17 January 2025
Defence Committee: MOD must learn from Ukraine and embrace AI
Ukraine has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) is already delivering military advantage in conflict and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) should embrace the change AI is bringing to defence, a report by the Defence Committee has found.
10 January 2025
MOD lifts restriction on serving personnel giving evidence for Armed Forces Covenant inquiry
On the request of the Defence Committee, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon. John Healey, has granted special dispensation to Service Personnel to provide evidence to the Committee’s inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant.
09 January 2025
Defence Committee launches inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant
Today the Defence Committee launches an inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant.
13 December 2024
Accommodation for service personnel and families is “shocking”: Government needs to act
A Defence Committee Report published today finds that accommodation for Service personnel and their families is “shocking”, with two-thirds of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) needing major work to meet modern standards, and families facing uncertainty over allocation of accommodation.
11 December 2024
Strategic Defence Review reviewers Lord Robertson and Sir Richard Barrons to give evidence
Strategic Defence Review (SDR) Reviewers, Lord Robertson and General (Retd) Sir Richard Barrons, will give evidence to the Defence Committee on the Review, on Tuesday 3 December, at 10.30am.
29 November 2024
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill: call for evidence
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill: call for evidence
26 November 2024
Defence Secretary John Healey to face questions from Defence Committee
The Defence Committee will question the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt. Hon. John Healey, in his first appearance in front of the Committee. The session will take place on Thursday 21 November, at 10.30am.
15 November 2024