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?

The Conservative Whip and former army officer Andrew Robathan MP had a prominent role - before and after the 2005 General Election - in drawing parliamentary attention to service voting issues.

UPDATE JAN 2024: The extended deadline for submissions of evidence to this inquiry has now passed. BAFF will continue to monitor.

From Defence Oral Questions, House of Commons, 22 February 2010:

Andrew Rosindell (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Romford, Conservative)

Can the Minister confirm that all service personnel are being given all the correct information to ensure that they are able to cast their vote in forthcoming elections?

Following the small poll which we ran on www.arrse.co.uk we have now posted a similar one-question survey on our own website:

• Preferred voting method from a BFPO location

The deadlines for applying for a proxy or postal vote in the General Election have now passed. But an "emergency proxy vote" can still be applied for in certain circumstances. Details below, courtesy of the Electoral Commission site aboutmyvote.co.uk.

Former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sir Eric Pickles MP, was asked by the government last year to consider what further changes were needed to make the electoral system more secure. This was particularly in light of the 2015 Tower Hamlets election scandal that led to the disqualification of the elected mayor for a number of corrupt and illegal practices. Sir Eric's report has been published today, containing 50 detailed recommendations, about which BAFF has just one comment in connection with service voters.

The Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) carries out a yearly review of armed forces pay, allowances and charges, in accordance with directions from the Government. It submits its recommendations to Government in time to be considered and, if accepted, brought into force from 1 April, the beginning of the next financial year.

When BAFF started, the eagerly-awaited recommendations came out in February or March.

In recent years the Government's approval and publication of the AFPRB report have, however, been taking place later and later. The AFPRB have repeatedly complained about this, saying in their latest published report (Oct 2021):

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.

UPDATE:  We tried a 'Tineye' reverse image search on the photo of a filthy refrigerator alleged to be at Wellington Barracks, which turns out to have been previously posted on a foreign site on or before 2017.

Also, the goods in the fridge don't look recognisably British.