Armed Forces: Bullying and Harassment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's Formal Response to the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces 2024 Annual Report published on 1 September 2025, what further steps he is taking to protect service personnel against (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
There is no place for bullying, harassment and discrimination within the Armed Forces, and we are committed to preventing these types of behaviours and taking appropriate action when faced with issues or concerns raised by our people. It is vital everyone feels empowered to speak up, knows how to take action, and is confident in doing so.
Through the Raising Our Standards programme, Defence seeks to tackle unacceptable behaviours across Defence, strengthen complaints processes, and promote a culture of respect, accountability, and zero tolerance for bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Furthermore, the single Services continue to develop interventions aimed at tackling unacceptable behaviours and providing a supportive environment for those that are affected.
In March 2025 the Ministry of Defence also announced its intention to create a new specialist Tri-Service Complaints team, outside of the single Service chains of command, to handle the most serious complaints, such as bullying, harassment and discrimination.
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