§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of (a) military and (b) civilian staff in the Ministry of Defence headquarters; what were the numbers in 1960, 1970, 1974 and 1979; and what were the costs of the headquarters in each year in current £ sterling.
§ Mr. BlakerCentralised records of headquarters staffs are available only from 1964 when the unified Ministry of Defence was set up. Starting from this date the actual numbers at 1 April for each of the years sought, and the staff cost at current prices, are as follows:
Military Numbers Civilian Numbers Cost £ million 1964 3,352* 20,491 220.3 1970 2,892 12,896 147.4 1974 3,063 15,991 186.6 1979 2,610 13,184 154.3 1981 2,637 12,463 148.3 * Provision in Estimates for 1 April 1964. A simple comparison of the numbers between any of these dates would, however, be misleading. During this period there have been a number of changes affecting headquarters. For example, between 1964 and 1970, some 300 Service and 7,000 civilians were moved out of headquarters, the procurement executive was formed in 1971 which added nearly 7,000, and many other subsequent changes occurred which affect the figures. Making a broad allowance for all these changes, the true reduction made over the period 1964 to 1981 amounts to some 400 military and 4,400 civilian staff.
The cost figures represent the annual staff cost of the numbers shown above.