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Armed Forces: Complaints

Asked by James MacClearyLiberal DemocratMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 19 May 2026UIN 768

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the nature of complaints received by the a) Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces and b) Armed Forces Commissioner was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones

Detailed information concerning the numbers, nature and timeliness of Service Complaints was published by the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) in its Annual Reports which were laid before Parliament, and in the supporting Annual Statistical Tables that are available on the SCOAF website: https://www.scoaf.org.uk/annual-statisticals-tables

Information on the numbers of complaints received by the SCOAF from LGBTQ+ personnel, and the number of staff hours and cost expended in working on complaints made to the SCOAF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The office of the Armed Forces Commissioner was established on 1 April 2026, and no verified statistics are currently available.

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