Armed Forces Bill 2026-27

The Armed Forces Bill (bill 367 of session 2024–26) was introduced in the House of Commons on 15 January 2026. The bill had its second reading on 26 January 2026.

Unlike most public bills, the Armed Forces Bill is referred to a specially convened select committee to examine the main premises of the bill and to conduct line-by-line scrutiny of its provisions. The select committee reported on the bill on 29 April 2026. No amendments were made during committee, and the bill remained as introduced.

The bill was subject to a ‘carry-over motion’, enabling it to resume in the 2026-27 parliamentary session. On 2 June 2026, the bill (bill 3 of session 2026-27) was subsequently considered in a committee of the whole House.

81 government amendments were adopted. One further consequential government amendment was adopted at report stage in the House of Commons on 22 June 2026. The bill, as amended, is now before the House of Lords (HL bill 36).

What is the purpose of the bill?

The primary purpose of the bill is to renew the Armed Forces Act 2006, which serves as the basis for military law and discipline in the UK armed forces, for a further five years.

The passage of a new armed forces bill also offers the opportunity to implement new government policies related to the armed forces, and to make changes to service justice that allow outdated provisions to be amended or removed and to introduce measures that have already been implemented in the civilian justice system.

What are the key measures in the bill?

Among other things, the bill will:

• Place the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law by extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to central government departments and the devolved administrations. It would also expand the issues to which these, and other public bodies, must have “due regard”.
• Create a Defence Housing Service (DHS) to implement the key recommendations of the 2025 Defence Housing Strategy. The DHS will be tasked with improving the supply and quality of defence housing, securing the regeneration or development of defence land and supporting service communities whose needs will be prioritised.
• Make changes to the reserve forces that will increase the recall liability of personnel in the Strategic Reserve up to the age of 65, harmonise the length of recall liability across all three services and enable the Secretary of State to issue recall orders for the Strategic Reserve for ‘warlike operations’. Individuals will also be able to transfer between the regular and reserve forces more easily. The legislation provides for opt-outs to the new rules. Reforms are expected to come into force in spring 2027.
• Amalgamate the Reserves and Cadets Forces Associations into a single non-departmental public body.
• Make changes to the service justice system that will implement the government’s strategy on violence against women and girls, provide more support to victims and make the system more efficient and effective. One notable proposal is for guidance on the exercise of criminal jurisdiction that will allow the victim of a service offence that could be tried within either the military or civilian justice system (concurrent jurisdiction), to express a preference as to which jurisdiction that alleged offence should be tried in. During the passage of the Armed Forces Act 2021, the issue of concurrent jurisdiction was the subject of much debate, with many members of the then opposition frontbench and members of the House of Lords criticising the legislation for not going far enough. The 2026 bill does not, however, propose measures that reflect the criticisms that were made at the time of the 2021 act’s passage through Parliament.
• Make provision for a new defence authorisation scheme to lawfully permit armed forces personnel to use “approved equipment” to prevent or detect offences being committed using drones near military sites.

The bill also makes provision in relation to the Visiting Forces Act 1952, the protection of military remains, extending the functions of the newly established Armed Forces Commissioner to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and changing how armed forces manpower numbers are authorised by, and reported to, Parliament.

Government amendments during committee of the whole House

Ahead of the committee of the whole House, the government tabled 81 amendments to the bill.

The main amendments to the bill relate to the armed forces covenant, the defence housing service, the reserves and the service justice system.

The remainder are consequential amendments arising from the main amendments, changes introduced because of legislation affecting the civilian justice system (which the service justice system mirrors as far as possible; including legislative changes introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026), along with several minor drafting refinements.

All the government’s amendments to the bill were adopted. No other amendments were made to the bill. Four new clauses tabled by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats relating to the Defence Investment Plan, the European Convention on Human Rights, immigration fees, and accommodation standards were defeated on division.