Armed Forces Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 16 April 2026.
343R Authorisations of drone use for defence purposes
(1) An authorised person may authorise the use of unmanned aircraft systems for the purpose of defence—
(a) testing,
(b) evaluation,
(c) training, and
(d) capability development.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an “authorised person” means—
(a) a member of the Armed Forces who has been deemed authorised by the Secretary of State, or
(b) a civilian employee of the Ministry of Defence who has been deemed authorised by the Secretary of State.
(3) An authorisation under subsection (1) must—
(a) be in writing, except in urgent cases in which it may be given verbally and later confirmed in writing as soon as reasonably practicable, and
(b) not have effect for a period exceeding six months.
David Reed
Opposition Assistant Whip (Commons)
3:00,
16 April 2026
I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
Clive Efford
Chair, Public Accounts Commission, Chair, Public Accounts Commission, Chair, Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill, Chair, Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
