This Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill on 11 July 2017.
Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill (2 MB , PDF)
The Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill would make provision for members of the Armed Forces to work part-time or to restrict the amount of time they spend separated from their normal place of work. In the background briefing to the Queen’s Speech, the Government stated that the purpose of this Bill is to “support recruitment and retention in the Armed Forces”.
Clause 1of the Bill would amend section 329 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, which addresses the terms and conditions of enlistment and service. Clause 2 covers amendments to other acts resulting from the Bill, ensuring that anyone benefitting from the working arrangements provided for in the Bill would be automatically excluded from jury service, a protection which currently only applies to full-time members of the regular Armed Forces.
The government-prepared briefing on the Bill states that the Government expects to introduce the changes by April 2019.
The Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 28 June 2017 and is scheduled for second reading on 11 July 2017.
Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill (2 MB , PDF)
The Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill is a two-clause government bill that would authorise the government to provide loans and other financial assistance to Ukraine resulting from the extraordinary revenue acceleration (ERA) loans agreement made at the meeting of the G7 and the EU in June 2024. It has been designated as a money bill and it completed its House of Commons stages on 18 December 2024 with broad cross-party support.
The House of Lords committee on international relations and defence has called on the government to remain alert to emerging changes in the Arctic and to regularly assess whether its strategy towards the region is “appropriately calibrated”. In a report published in 2023, the committee suggested the Arctic was experiencing significant change and was no longer a region of low-tension. It argued the situation was critical to UK interests.
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee welcomed the EU and UK response to the war in Ukraine “in general terms”. In its January 2024 report, the committee said some areas of UK-EU cooperation had been broadly effective. The committee said the report’s aim was to consider a longer-term approach and make recommendations to strengthen the UK-EU response. It called for more formal arrangements in several security and foreign policy areas.
