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Have your say on the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill

31 October 2017 (updated on 31 October 2017)

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Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) [Lords] Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament?

If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill.

The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration.

The Committee will only meet on Tuesday 14 November 2017. It will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage, which is expected to be not later than 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 November 2017. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 November 2017.*

 

* In the last Parliamentary Session, the following Public Bill Committees concluded their consideration of the Bill earlier than scheduled: Criminal Finances, Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts), Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs), Neighbourhood Planning, Savings (Government Contributions), Technical and Further Education, Commonwealth Development Corporation, Children & Social Work, National Citizen Service, and Bus Services.

Aims of the Bill

The Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill will amend the Armed Forces Act 2006 to enable provision to be made through secondary legislation for flexible working arrangements for regular Service personnel. The new measures are expected to come into effect in April 2019.

The case for flexible working, the Government argues, is principally about recruitment and retention and is not a money-saving exercise.

The focus of the Bill is to give regular Service personnel more control over how they run their lives by better balancing work and home life.

The new arrangements will enable regular personnel to apply to reduce their hours or to limit the amount of time they are away from their home base for a set number of days per year. The MOD anticipates this will primarily assist those who have caring responsibilities, for example pre-school children or disabled, sick or elderly relatives. Approval will be subject to Service needs and will not be automatic.

Follow the progress of the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill

The Bill completed it stages in the House of Lords on 25 October 2017 and had First Reading in the House of Commons on the same day. The Bill had its Second Reading in the House of Commons on Monday 30 October 2017.

This Bill has now been committed to a Public Bill Committee which will complete all of its deliberations on the Bill on Tuesday 14 November 2017.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

Deadline for written evidence submissions

The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration, and possibly reflect it in an amendment. The order in which amendments are taken in Committee will be available in due course under Selection of Amendments on the Bill documents pages. Once the Committee has dealt with an amendment it will not revisit it.

The Committee will only meet on Tuesday 14 November 2017. It will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage, which is expected to be not later than 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 November 2017. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 November 2017

Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk.

Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be found here.


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