Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timescale is for the extension of the provisions of the Armed Forces Bill to the Channel Islands.

Mark Lancaster

Clause 21 of the Armed Forces Bill provides for the Bill’s extent outside the United Kingdom. Clause 21(1) deals specifically with extent in the Channel Islands. By extent, we mean the jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom in which the Bill’s provisions will, or may, form part of the law. There are no provisions in the Bill which extend automatically to the Channel Islands but the changes that the Bill makes to the Armed Forces Act 2006 may be extended there by Order in Council (though it does not necessarily follow that such an Order will be made). The other changes that the Bill makes (such as changes to the powers of MOD fire-fighters) may not be extended to the Channel Islands.

We are not currently aware of any requirements which would necessitate an Order in Council being made to extend to the Channel Islands any of the changes that the Bill makes to the Armed Forces Act 2006. However, it should be noted that the question of whether the 2006 Act extends to (i.e. forms part of the law of) the Channel Islands is entirely separate from the question of whether members of the Armed Forces are subject to the 2006 Act as a matter of UK law when they are in the Channel Islands. As a matter of UK law, the 2006 Act applies to members of the Armed Forces wherever they are in the world.