Armed Forces Bill: Committee Stage Report

As expected the focus of the Committee was on the Armed Forces Covenant and the amendments introduced by the Government to put the principles of the Covenant on a statutory footing.

The Government’s amendments on both the Armed Forces Covenant and the call-out of the Reserves were subsequently adopted after debate. A number of other amendments and new clauses relating to the Covenant, base closures, and the enlistment of minors were either withdrawn or fell after debate (Amendments 2-4, amendment 17, new clauses 1-7, new clauses 11, 13 and 14); while several were also defeated on division (amendment 16 and new clauses 15 and 17).

The following note is a brief summary of the main points raised during the Committee.

The Bill, as amended, is now Bill 202 of Session 2010-12.