Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the comments by Lord McKenzie of Luton in Grand Committee on 28 April (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. GC44-5), what is the justification for the breadth of the exemption of the Armed Forces from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and whether they have now reconsidered it.
Answer
The Armed Forces have an exemption from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) because all service personnel need to be combat effective in order to meet a worldwide liability to deploy. This means that everyone who joins the Armed Forces undergoes a rigorous selection and initial training process to ensure that they can withstand the hardship and challenges of military service. The Armed Forces do not allow units to have a protected role or reduced commitment, which means that everyone is liable to deploy and to fight anywhere in the world, even if only in self-defence. Accordingly, the MoD has concluded that it is essential that exemptions from domestic and international disability legislation are retained. For this reason the Armed Forces' exemption from the DDA has been replicated in the Equality Bill. This is required to ensure the continued combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces, as decisions on operational effectiveness must be taken by MoD Ministers, accountable to Parliament and based on military advice, not by the courts. The Armed Forces must be able to determine and set their own standards, based on the tasks to be performed. The Government do not expect the rationale for the exemption from the DDA to change, hence there are no plans to remove this exemption. The Armed Forces perform a role which is fundamentally different from those of other organisations, such as the police and the fire services. All service personnel are weapons-trained and need to be able to respond to the uniquely harsh realities and complexities of warfare. This involves deployment overseas and prolonged working in stressful situations and arduous environments. Service in the police and the fire services is intrinsically different, not least because there is no requirement for everyone to be weapons-trained, or to serve overseas for prolonged periods. The Government do not consider that a direct comparison can be drawn between service in such disparate organisations.