Baroness VickersMy 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 state the numbers of non-industrial and industrial civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence.
Viscount LongMy Lords, including the Royal Ordnance Factories, there were, on 1st March 1981, 114,200 United Kingdom non-industrial staff and 116,700 United Kingdom industrial staff employed by the Ministry of Defence. In addition, there were 10,900 locally-engaged non-industrial staff and 24,900 locally-engaged industrial staff employed overseas.
Baroness VickersMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. However, is he able to say what proportion of industrial and non-industrial personnel went on strike recently and, should there have been an emergency at the time, can he say what action the Government could have taken in order to ensure that these establishments were properly run?
Viscount LongMy Lords, 48,000 United Kingdom-based non-industrial staff took part in the one-day protest on 9th March and on 1st April 9,000 members also went on strike. About 500 are involved in continuing selective action, but operational effectiveness is not impaired. I can assure the House that I have no doubt that, if national security were at stake, all our staff would respond.