Overview

This bill aims to prevent discrimination against members of the armed forces in the UK. It achieves this by amending existing legislation to increase penalties for crimes motivated by hostility towards service personnel and by making it illegal to discriminate against service personnel in the provision of goods and services.

Description

The bill makes two key changes to existing laws:

• Amendment of the Criminal Justice Act 2003: This section increases sentences for crimes where the victim is a member of the armed forces. Crimes motivated by hostility towards service people will be considered aggravated offences, leading to harsher punishments. The definition of "service person" is broadened to include relatives.
• Amendment of the Equality Act 2010: This section adds "status as a member or former member of the armed forces" as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. This means it will be illegal to discriminate against service personnel (or former service personnel) when providing goods and services.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is not explicitly stated in the provided text. Increased prison sentences may lead to higher prison costs, but no figures are available.

Groups Affected

The bill primarily affects:

• Members of the armed forces: They will receive greater legal protection against discrimination and harsher penalties will apply for crimes committed against them.
• Businesses providing goods and services: They will be legally obliged to treat service personnel equally and avoid discrimination.
• Perpetrators of crimes against service personnel: They face increased sentencing if their crime is motivated by hostility towards service people.
• The Judicial System: This will likely increase workload due to more aggravated offenses and potentially more discrimination cases.

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