The Ministry of Defence has made a corrective instrument for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) disciplinary framework. The Ministry of Defence Police (Conduct, Performance and Appeals Tribunals) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 were made on 18 December, laid on 23 December, and come into force on 28 December 2025 under the made negative procedure. The instrument addresses defects in S.I. 2025/1263.
What the instrument does is straightforward: it strips out most of the changes introduced earlier this month by S.I. 2025/1263. In practical terms, the revocations remove that instrument’s amendments to the Conduct Regulations (Schedule 1 of the 2020 Regulations), the modifications for former MDP officers (Schedule 2), and the updates to the Performance Regulations (Schedule 4). These are the areas covered by Parts 2, 3 and 4 of S.I. 2025/1263.
The instrument also revokes regulation 72 and regulation 73 of S.I. 2025/1263, together with almost all of Part 6: regulation 75 is revoked except for the definition of “Head of HR”, and regulation 76 and regulation 77(1) and (2) are revoked in full. The sole policy amendment left in place from that earlier instrument is regulation 74.
What remains and why matters for appeals. Regulation 74 of S.I. 2025/1263 concerns the appointment and composition of police appeals tribunals. It is preserved because Scotland is moving police dismissal and demotion appeals into the Scottish Tribunals structure; keeping this change ensures the MDP appeals provisions align with those Scottish reforms.
The decision to retain the single definition of “Head of HR” ensures the appeals machinery can continue to function without interpretative gaps. Under the 2020 framework, notices of appeal are lodged “to the Head of HR” and the term is used throughout the appeals schedule, so carrying that definition forward avoids uncertainty for appellants and respondents.
For conduct and performance cases, the practical effect is that the 2020 Regulations (S.I. 2020/1087) remain the live framework, without the now‑revoked 2025 amendments. Professional Standards Departments and HR teams should process new matters under the 2020 regime and treat the revoked 2025 text as inoperative, subject only to the narrow preservation explained above.
Live cases opened in the brief window after S.I. 2025/1263 was made should be checked for their legal footing. Because the transitional and interpretative rules in Part 6 of that instrument have been revoked (aside from the single saved definition), units will need to rely on the transitional arrangements already embedded in the 2020 Regulations and confirm that any notices, timetables or hearings are grounded in the 2020 text.
The Scottish dimension explains the one retained change. From 29 December 2025, the Police Appeals Tribunal in Scotland is abolished and its functions transfer to the First‑tier Tribunal for Scotland’s General Regulatory Chamber. The preserved appointment and composition provision ensures cross‑border consistency for MDP appeal arrangements that engage Scottish jurisdictions.
Parliamentary control remains available. The instrument is made under the negative procedure; unless prayed against, it will remain in force after the objection period ends on 23 February 2026. For planning purposes, forces should assume continuity of the 2020 framework while monitoring any parliamentary challenge.