Forces personnel afraid to complain

DEFENCE officials have been called on to urgently investigate claims that fear of redundancy is deterring armed forces personnel from making complaints about genuine grievances.

MPs said it was unacceptable that service men and women were shying away from taking action because they were afraid of the consequences of making a complaint.

The Commons Defence Committee said it was “concerned and disappointed” that personnel do not always have the confidence to pursue complaints through their chain of command.

It called for the Government to axe the service complaints commissioner role, which cannot actively investigate allegations, and replace it with an armed forces ombudsman who could hold the services to account.

Although the existing commissioner has called for the role to be overhauled to make it more effective, forces chiefs are opposed to the move, according to the committee’s report.

It also found the number of complaints the commissioner had received about bullying, harassment, improper behaviour and victimisation had continued to increase but allegations about sexual harassment remained low, despite evidence suggesting it may be more widespread.

Committee chairman James Arbuthnot said: “The service complaints system is an important part of ensuring the duty of care that the nation owes to its service personnel is carried out effectively.

“We acknowledge the progress made in delivering a fair, just and efficient service complaints system but there is a long way to go. There are too many reports of service personnel being reluctant to raise genuine complaints and grievances.”