The Reserve Forces (Provision of Information by Persons Liable to be Recalled) Regulations 1997

Made: 19th February 1997

Laid before Parliament: 19th February 1997

Coming into force: 1st April 1997

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 75 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996[^f00001], hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Reserve Forces (Provision of Information by Persons liable to be Recalled) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 1st April 1997.

• (2) Any information, notification or confirmation required to be given under these Regulations shall be given in writing unless the person to whom it is to be given accepts it in some other form.

• (3) A reference in these Regulations to “the appropriate authority” is a reference to the authority in regulation 5 below for the regular service into which a person to whom these Regulations apply is liable to be recalled.

Application

2

These Regulations apply to any person not serving in the regular services or reserve forces—

• (a) who is liable to be recalled for service under section 30, 31 or 34 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980[^f00002] or Part VII of the 1996 Act; or

• (b) who would have been liable to be recalled under any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (a) above but for—

• (i) regulations made under section 73 of the 1996 Act granting an exemption or relaxation of that liability; or

• (ii) an exemption granted on an application made under regulations under section 79 of the 1996 Act,

and who shall become liable to be recalled for service on expiry of such exemption or relaxation.

Information to be furnished without demand

3

A person to whom these Regulations apply shall—

• (a) within 14 days after becoming such a person, either—

• (i) notify the appropriate authority of his name, address and telephone number (if any); or

• (ii) if he has previously supplied that information to the appropriate authority, confirm to the appropriate authority that it is correct;

• (b) within 14 days of changing his name, address or telephone number notify the appropriate authority of his new name, address or telephone number;

• (c) where he expects to be absent from the United Kingdom[^f00003] for a continuous period of more than 3 months, notify the appropriate authority of that fact before departing;

• (d) where he has returned to the United Kingdom following a continuous absence of more than 3 months, notify the appropriate authority of—

• (i) his return; and

• (ii) his address and telephone number within the United Kingdom,

within 14 days of his return;

• (e) as soon as is reasonably practicable, notify the appropriate authority if he believes that he has become medically unfit for service in the armed forces and will remain so for more than 3 months;

• (f) as soon as is reasonably practicable, notify the appropriate authority if, having given the notification referred to in paragraph (e) above, he later believes that he is fit for service in the armed forces.

Information to be furnished on demand

4

• (1) If the appropriate authority notifies a person to whom these Regulations apply that he is required to give any of the information referred to in paragraph (2) below he shall give that information within 14 days.

• (2) The information which that person may be required to give under this regulation is—

• (a) his name, home address and telephone number (if any) and work address and telephone number (if any);

• (b) his marital status;

• (c) his current occupation;

• (d) details of any—

• (i) professional, technical or like qualifications which he holds;

• (ii) licence which he holds to drive a motor vehicle, pilot an aircraft or act as a flight engineer on an aircraft; or

• (iii) certificate which he holds to act as an officer on a ship;

• (e) information about his medical condition.

Appropriate authorities

5

• (1) The appropriate authority for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines shall be—

• (2) The appropriate authority for the army shall be—

• (3) The appropriate authority for the Royal Air Force shall be—

Signed

Nicholas Soames — Minister of State, Ministry of Defence — 19th February 1997

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations require former members of the armed forces who may at some time in the future be recalled for service to provide information of their whereabouts, current occupation, qualifications and fitness for service.

The regulations apply to naval and marine pensioners liable to be recalled under section 30 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980, army and air force pensioners liable to be recalled under section 31 of that Act, former soldiers liable to be recalled under section 34 of that Act and persons liable to be recalled under Part VII of the Reserve Forces Act 1996. They also apply to persons whose liability for recall under Part VII has been temporarily exempted or relaxed. The Army Long-Term Reserve Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/2311) which currently regulate the provision of information by former soldiers liable to recall will be revoked when section 34(4) of the Reserve Forces Act 1980, under which they were made, is repealed.

Regulation 3 specifies the information which a person must provide without it being demanded, namely: his address and telephone number; any intention which he may have to leave the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for more than 3 months and, if he does leave, the fact of his return and his address and telephone number on returning; any medical condition which may make him unfit for service and, where he has given notification of his unfitness, confirmation that he has again become fit for service.

The information which must be provided within 14 days of it being demanded under regulation 4 is: the person’s name; his home and work addresses and telephone numbers (if any); his current occupation, any professional, technical or like qualifications and any licence or certificate which he holds to drive a motor vehicle, pilot or be a flight engineer on an aircraft or act as an officer on a ship.

Regulation 5 sets out the appropriate authorities who may demand such information and to whom it must be given.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1996 c. 14.

[^f00002]: 1980 c. 9.

[^f00003]: By virtue of section 77(1) of the 1996 Act, “United Kingdom” includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.