The Ports of Fleetwood and Silloth (Transfer of Undertaking) Harbour Revision Order 2026

This part introduces amendments to Section 52 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, which covers the service offence of failing to follow an order to attend for duty or report to a designated assembly point.

The change is largely technical, replacing the phrasing "shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to..." with "is guilty of a service offence and liable on summary conviction to...".

This updates the legal terminology used to describe the commission and consequence of this specific disciplinary failure.

This provision amends Section 53, concerning the offence of absence from duty.

Similar to the previous change, it updates the language describing the commission of the offence and its penalties.

It specifies that unauthorized absence renders the individual guilty of a 'service offence'.

For summary convictions (less severe cases dealt with summarily), the old phrasing is replaced.

For convictions by court-martial (more serious cases), the reference to being guilty is also updated to use the current technical phrasing for a service offence.

Section 54 deals with the serious service offence of desertion.

The amendments here standardize the language used when describing the offence and its liability for conviction by court-martial.

The phrase "shall be guilty of an offence" is replaced throughout subsections (1) and (2) with the current legislative term "is guilty of a service offence."

This regulation updates Section 55, which defines the offence of joining in mutiny.

Similar textual substitution occurs here, standardizing the consequence of joining mutiny to be the commission of a 'service offence' punishable upon conviction by a court-martial.

This maintains consistency in how serious acts of insubordination are categorized and penalized under military law.

The changes apply to Section 56, which addresses the offence of attempting to persuade service personnel to disobey orders or break discipline. The language governing liability upon conviction by court-martial is standardized to reflect the current definition of a 'service offence'.

This ensures the penalty structure aligns with the general amendments being made across the Act.

Section 57 relates to inciting others to be disobedient or commit a service offence.

The modifications replace the previous declarative language about guilt with the specific designation of the act as a 'service offence' punishable by court-martial conviction under subsections (1) and (3).

This confirms that the act of incitement falls under the formalized category of service offences.

Part 2 of Schedule 1 signals a transition to making amendments specifically related to the process for lodging and handling 'Service complaints' made by members of the armed forces.

These complaints typically cover matters of service life, grievances, or concerns about service conditions.

This entry points to an impending amendment affecting Section 313 of the Act, which mandates that certain issues or concerns raised by a service person must be immediately referred to their commanding officer for initial handling.

The exact modification is not detailed in this excerpt but pertains to the referral duty.

This amendment targets Section 314, which outlines specific categories of complaints that are explicitly excluded from the initial requirement of being referred to the commanding officer first.

These exceptions are critical paths for escalation outside of the direct chain of command.

The following amendment affects Section 315.

This section likely details the procedure a commanding officer must follow when they receive a complaint that was initially referred to them, even if the complaint fell under the scope described in Section 314 (issues that may or may not have required initial referral).

This entry indicates that Section 316, which governs complaints escalated directly or ultimately referred to the Secretary of State (typically the Secretary of State for Defence), is subject to amendment.

This relates to the highest level of review for service complaints.