The House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) has published the Government's response to the report of the Committee's inquiry about the Afghanistan withdrawal, dealing with

• The Doha Agreement and fall of the Afghan Government
• The Evacuation and Relocation of Eligible Afghans
• Mental Health of Veterans
• Learning Lessons from Afghanistan

The 'Independent Inquiry to investigate certain matters arising from the deployment of British armed forces to Afghanistan between mid-2010 and mid-2013' has held its first formal session today, 25 April 2023.

The Inquiry was announced by the Defence Secretary last December, and is chaired by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, whom some members will recall chairing the 2009 Nimrod review into the loss of RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan. He also served as the judge in charge of the terrorism list between 2017 and 2018.

The House of Commons Defence Committee has opened a new Inquiry into Armed Forces Readiness. The Committee welcomes written evidence on the following:

• Are the armed forces sufficiently capable, resourced and ready to protect the UK and our allies?
• What are the main gaps in capability and/or readiness, and what will it take to fill these gaps?
• Are the UK armed forces a ‘tier one fighting force’? Do they need to be?
• What are the consequences of the army having been “hollowed out and underfunded”? Which of these consequences needs to be addressed most urgently?
• Are the Government’s plans sufficient to address any shortfalls?

This petition under the official UK Government and Parliament procedure is now closed, after running for six months.

We believe Armed Forces families are consistently let down by the service providers that are supposed to maintain Service Family Accommodation (SFA). We want the Government to review and enhance the rights of SFA tenants, so they have at least the same rights as private tenants.