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Armed Forces Act 2016

Contents

Legal background

  1. AFA 2006 contains nearly all the provisions for the existence of a system for the armed forces of command, discipline and justice. Sections 1 to 13 and the Schedule insert new provisions into AFA 2006. The relevant provisions of AFA 2006 are:
    • in relation to the continuation of AFA 2006 (section 1 of the Act), section 382
    • in relation to the requirement for members of the armed forces and civilians subject to service discipline to co-operate with preliminary tests for alcohol and drugs (section 2 of the Act), sections 93A to 93I
    • in relation to the investigation, charging and mode of trial of offences under AFA 2006 (sections 3 to 5 of the Act), sections 113 to 128
    • in relation to the period for which a sentence of service detention may be suspended by the Court Martial (section 6 of the Act), section 190
    • in relation to AFA 2006 and the Isle of Man and British overseas territories (section 13 of the Act), section 384.
  2. Section 14 amends sections 146 and 147 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 by removing wording which provides that those sections do not prevent a homosexual act from being a ground for discharging a member of the armed forces.
  3. Section 15 amends section 25 of the Social Security Act 1989, which provides for the establishment and functions of war pensions committees.
  4. Section 16 makes free-standing provision to give Ministry of Defence fire-fighters statutory powers to act in an emergency to protect life or property. Ministry of Defence fire-fighters are not created by statute: they are employed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence, or a government contractor providing services to the Secretary of State for Defence, or are members of the armed forces. Section 16 also amends sections 1 and 7 of the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006, extending the offences under sections 1 and 2 of that Act so that they cover obstructing or hindering a Ministry of Defence fire-fighter responding to an emergency in the United Kingdom, or a person assisting such a fire-fighter.
  5. Section 17 amends enactments to give Ministry of Defence fire-fighters exemptions from provisions in those enactments. The relevant provisions in those enactments are:
    • section 102(4) of the Transport Act 1968 (exemption for fire brigades, etc to rules on drivers’ hours)
    • section 15(7)(a)(i) of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 (exception for fire and rescue vehicles to offence of parking on footways, etc)
    • section 62(2)(a) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (exception for fire brigades, etc to prohibition on use of loud-speakers in streets)
    • section 135(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (restrictions on transfer of oil at night).

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