The office of the Service Complaints Commissioner (SCC) was set up in 2008 to give Service personnel an alternative way of raising incidences where they believed they had been wronged in their Service life. The SCC is a statutory appointment made by the Secretary of State for Defence to provide independent oversight of the Service Complaints system. The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill, currently being considered by Parliament, would change the post to one of a Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO). The successful candidate will in the first instance take on the role and current powers of the SCC, and once legislation comes into force, the new role of the SCO with its increased powers.
The Defence Committee is holding a pre-appointment hearing with the Secretary of State’s preferred candidate for the post.