Defence Reform Act 2014

47 Report on volunteer reserve forces

In Part 11 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (reserve associations), after section 113 insert—

“113A Duty to prepare report on volunteer reserve forces

(1) An association must prepare an annual report on the state of the volunteer reserve forces so far as concerns the area for which the association is established.

(2) A report on the state of the volunteer reserve forces is a report that sets out the association’s assessment of the capabilities of the volunteer reserve forces, having regard to the duties that may be imposed on members of those forces by or under this Act or any other enactment.

(3) The assessment referred to in subsection (2) must, in particular, include the association’s views on the effect of each of the following matters on the capabilities of the volunteer reserve forces—

(a) the recruiting of members for the volunteer reserve forces;

(b) the retention of members of those forces;

(c) the provision of training for those forces;

(d) the upkeep of land and buildings for whose management and maintenance the association is responsible.

(4) A report under subsection (1) must also set out the association’s assessment of the provision that is made as regards the mental welfare of members and former members of the volunteer reserve forces.

(5) An association must send a report under subsection (1) to the Secretary of State—

(a) in the case of the first report, before the first anniversary of the day on which the last Future Reserves 2020 report prepared before the coming into force of this section was presented to the Secretary of State, and

(b) in the case of subsequent reports, before the anniversary of the day on which the first report was laid before Parliament under subsection (6).

(6) On receiving a report under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must lay a copy of it before Parliament.

(7) The duties under this section may, instead of being performed by an association, be performed by a joint committee appointed under section 116 by two or more associations in relation to their combined areas.

(8) Where by virtue of subsection (7) a joint committee has the duty to prepare a report—

(a) references in subsections (1) to (5) to an association are to be read as if they were to the joint committee, and

(b) section 117(1)(a) (power to regulate manner in which functions are exercised) has effect as if the reference to associations were to the joint committee.

(9) In subsection (5)(a), “Future Reserves 2020 report” means a report prepared by the External Scrutiny Group on the Future Reserves 2020 programme.”