UK Offence Report

The Ministry of Defence Police (Conduct, Performance and Appeals Tribunals) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

UK Statutory Instrument 2025 No. 1263 — creates 1 criminal offence.

1offences created
0recorded in force
1revoked
Made
1 December 2025
In force from
29 December 2025
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justice
Made under
Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987, S.I. 2020/1087

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations amend the Ministry of Defence Police (Conduct, Performance and Appeals Tribunals) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1087) (“the 2020 Regulations”), primarily to align with changes made by the Police (Conduct, Performance and Complaints and Misconduct) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/558) to the disciplinary procedures that apply to members and former members of the territorial police forces in England and Wales and appeals from those procedures. Part 2 amends the Conduct Regulations set out in Schedule 1 to the 2020 Regulations. Regulation 4 makes various changes to the interpretative provisions, including to clarify that a conviction for an indictable-only offence will always amount to gross misconduct, and makes a minor change to the rules relating to the delegation of functions. Regulation 6 makes changes to enable written notices or documents to be sent by e-mail rather than by post. It also creates rules for deemed dates of service. Regulations 8 and 12 amend regulations 41 and 62 of the Conduct Regulations to require that disciplinary action is imposed in cases where misconduct or gross misconduct is found. They also provide that, where gross misconduct is found, the outcome must be dismissal without notice unless exceptional circumstances apply. Regulation 9 amends regulation 49 of the Conduct Regulations to allow a relevant authority to refer a case to an accelerated misconduct hearing even if it has not received a statement of the investigator’s belief that the special conditions are satisfied. Various errors within the Conduct Regulations are also corrected by regulations 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12. Part 3 amends Schedule 2 to the 2020 Regulations (modifications to the Conduct Regulations in their application to former officers), mainly in consequence of amendments to the Conduct Regulations. Regulation 18 inserts a new Part 3A into the Conduct Regulations as modified, and introduces a presumption that a former police officer should be referred to an accelerated misconduct hearing rather than a misconduct hearing unless the officer opts for a misconduct hearing or the relevant authority determines that a misconduct hearing is necessary. Various other errors are corrected by regulations 14 to 16, 20 to 22, 26 and 29. The Ministry of Defence has produced a version of the Conduct Regulations as modified in respect of former officers which can be obtained from the Professional Standards Department of the Ministry of Defence Police by e-mailing MDP-PSD-GMB@mod.gov.uk or online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-police-conduct-performance-and-appeals-tribunals-regulations-2020. Part 4 amends the Performance Regulations as set out in Schedule 4 to the 2020 Regulations. Regulation 34 makes various changes to the interpretative provisions, including to introduce a definition of “appeal manager” and to remove the requirement that a “senior manager” be the supervisor of the second line manager of the officer concerned. Regulation 36 amends regulation 6 of the Performance Regulations and provides that written notices or documents may be sent by e-mail rather than by post. It also creates rules for deemed dates of service. Regulations 45 and 67 amend regulations 16 and 45 of the Performance Regulations respectively to provide that the officer concerned must demonstrate sufficient improvement for a default period of three months where they are issued with a written improvement notice. Regulation 47 amends regulation 18 of the Performance Regulations to provide that an appeal against the finding and outcome of a first stage meeting must be heard by an appeal manager rather than by the second line manager of the officer concerned. Regulation 50 omits Part 4 of the Performance Regulations and thereby reduces the previous three-stage system to a two-stage process. Regulation 56 amends regulation 33 of the Performance Regulations to provide that a panel chair may be a member of the Ministry of Defence Police or another police force who acts as a senior officer. Other changes are consequential on those set out above. Part 5 amends the Appeals Tribunals Regulations. These amendments are in consequence of the changes to the Performance Regulations and also include one change to the eligibility of those who can be selected as the chair of an appeal tribunal panel as a consequence of changes being made in Scotland (to abolish police appeal tribunals and move appeals to the Scottish Tribunals system). Part 6 makes transitional provision. It provides that the amendments made by Parts 2 to 5 do not have effect in relation to a matter that pre-dates the coming into force of these Regulations, or post-dates it but relates to a matter that is already being handled in accordance with the applicable conduct or performance regime. It also provides that the amendments made by Parts 2 and 3 have effect where the officer concerned has not already been given notice of their referral to misconduct proceedings or an accelerated misconduct hearing. Regulation 77 also contains provision to ensure that the change to the rules on giving notices or documents to an appellant under the Appeals Tribunals Regulations does not apply where notice of the appeal was given by an appellant before these Regulations come into force and the change to the rule relating to the appointment of the chair of a Police Appeals Tribunal panel does not affect cases where the chair was appointed before these Regulations come into force. A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

How Parliament handled it

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Procedure
Made negative — law unless a motion to stop it succeeded
Could either House amend it?
No. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not. Neither House can change a word of it.

Procedural history

From Parliament's Statutory Instruments service. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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