§ 2.37 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT MONTGOMERY OF ALAMEINMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will give the number of officers (on the active list and retired), other ranks, and civil servants, at present serving in the Admiralty, War Office, Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence respectively—giving separate figures for each Ministry.]
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (LORD CARRINGTON)My Lords, as the Answer consists of a table of figures, I will, with your Lordships' permission, publish them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
| [Following is the table referred to: it shows the numbers serving in the four Defence Departments as at April 1, 1963.] | ||||||||
| Officers | Other Ranks | Civil Servants | Grand Total | |||||
| Active | Retired | Established | Unestablished | |||||
| Admiralty | … | … | 705 | 40 | 74 | 6,838 | 1,806 | 9,463 |
| War Office | … | … | 878 | 190 | 307 | 4,590 | 1,412 | 7,377 |
| Air Ministry | … | … | 1,089 | — | 90 | 3,702 | 1,109 | 5,990 |
| Ministry of Defence | … | 66 | 2 | 64 | 592 | 346 | 1,070 | |
| NOTE.—Air Ministry records do not record the number of retired officers employed as such and this can only be ascertained by a reference to each individual's documents. |
§ VISCOUNT MONTGOMERY OF ALAMEINMy Lords, the noble Lord has, with great courtesy, given the figures, which are certainly complicated. I should like to ask him one question. The total figures are: the Admiralty, over 9,000; the War Office, over 7,000; the Air Ministery, nearly 6,000; and the Ministry of Defence, 1,070. Can the noble Lord give us any assurance that under the new Central Organisation for Defence those numbers are likely to decrease?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, it is rather too early to say what the effect of the reorganisation will be, but it is certainly the hope of my right honourable friend the Minister of Defence that there will be some saving in staff when certain Services are amalgamated.