The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill got its third reading yesterday and powers of intervention and referral were commented upon. The Secretary of State for Defence said;
In forging our new culture of transparency and openness, we need to not only do the right thing, but be seen to do the right thing. And that is why I say to you we are advertising for a new ombudsman with far reaching powers to help everyday hard working families. Truth be told though, we don't want the Armed Forces Ombudsman to have any powers at all but hey, we have to go through the motions.
He didn't really say any of that but he may as well have, it looks like a fudge in the making. I put the families reference in because if he
had come close to saying anything at all, everyday hard working families would definitely have found their way in there somehow.
Lords Hansard text for*20 Oct 2014 (pt 0001)