§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes have been made in the operational and other procedures of the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the terms of paragraph 8 of the joint communiqué of the third meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council at the level of Heads of Government, Cmnd. 9657.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 13 February 1986, c. 523]: The Chief Constable and the General Officer Commanding are committed to the principle that under the rule of law the armed forces, which include the Ulster Defence Regiment, operate only in support of the civil power. They are moving as fast as operational deployments and manpower constraints will allow to ensuring that, save in the most exceptional circumstances, there will be a Royal Ulster Constabulary presence with all army patrols engaged on duties which are likely to bring them into direct contact with members of the public.
A working party established by the Chief Constable has for sometime been engaged on the preparation of a code of conduct for the Royal Ulster Constabulary; it aims to complete this work as soon as possible.
A leaflet providing guidance on complaints against the conduct of members of Her Majesty's Forces in Northern Ireland has recently been made available to members of the public. It explains in simple language the procedure for making such a complaint and how that complaint will be dealt with.