Armed Forces Act 1955 (Hansard, 26 March 2003)

§ Mr. Ingram

There is no Armed Forces Act 1955. The Army and Air Force Acts of that year and the Naval Discipline Act 1957 have a finite life, and Parliament considers their renewal every five years in the form of an Armed Forces Bill. This is also the main vehicle for amending the 1955 and 1957 Acts. The Armed Forces Act was last renewed in 2001.

All the procedures covered by the Service Acts are kept under review and it is envisaged that any proposals for further change that may be considered necessary would be included in the Armed Forces Bill due for introduction in the 2005–06 session. We intend to introduce legislation to bring the three separate Acts together into one tri-Service Act, but whether it will be possible to include this in the 2005–06 Bill will depend on the availability of parliamentary time.