HC Deb 23 July 1979 vol 971 cc99-100W
Mr. Hordern

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide figures to show the number of men and women on active service in 1945, in 1973 and at the latest available date in each of the Armed Services and the number employed in the Ministry of Defence, distinguished

Year Royal Navy/Royal Marines Army Royal Air Force Total
1945 (1 April)… … … 865,000 3,026,000 1,143,000 5,034,000
1973 (1 April)… … … 81,200 179,800 105,900 367,000
1979 (1 May)… … … 71,800 155,600 86,500 313,500

These figures exclude Gurkhas and locally entered personnel at overseas locations, and the figures for 1945 exclude Commonwealth and colonial troops who served the Crown.

Year Non-industrial Industrial Total
1945 (1 April) … … 158,000 287,000 445,000
1973 (1 April) … … 130,000 143,000 273,000
1979 (1 May) … … 121,000 126,000 247,000

These figures also exclude locally entered civilians. However, as I explained in my original answer, these figures are not directly comparable because of the very significant changes that have taken place in departmental responsibilities over the period. For example, the 1945 figures

cost in the current year to the defence Vote, together with the percentage of gross national product, of (a) value added tax, (b) duty, (c) housing for Service families, (d) education, (e) welfare and social security, (f) pensions, (g) any other items not directly related to the defence effort, and (h) the balance remaining for actual defence expenditure.

Mr. Pym

The information requested is given below:

as between industrial and non-industrial civil servants on the same dates.

Mr. Hayhoe,

pursuant to his answer, [Official Report, 10 July 1979], gave the following answer:

The detailed figures of personnel serving in the United Kingdom Armed Forces on the dates listed are as shown below:

The details of civil servants employed on the same dates by the Ministry of Defence including the Royal Ordnance factories or, in 1945, by the Service Departments of the Civil Service are as shown below:

exclude 82,000 non-industrial and 291,000 industrials employed in the Ministry of Supply and Ministry of Aircraft Production for which some comparable responsibility now exists in the Ministry of Defence.