HC Deb 26 July 1963 vol 681 cc232-3W
Mr. Healey

asked the Minister of Defence what was the number of civil servants in his Department on 30th June, 1963; and what will be the estimated numbers on 31st December, 1963, 30th June, 1964, and 31st December, 1964, under the proposed reorganisation.

Mr. Thorneycroft

1,128 non-industrial and 33 industrial Civil Servants were employed in the Ministry of Defence, including the Imperial Defence College and Joint Services Staff College, on 30th June, 1963. The estimated numbers on 31st December, 1963, are non-industrial 1,216, industrial 40. These figures are provisional and reflect the expected build-up of the new organisation proposed in Cmnd. 2097, before the integration of the new Ministry in its permanent accommodation takes effect. The new Ministry will come into being on 1st April, 1964. It is not possible at this stage to estimate precisely what the number of Civil Servants at headquarters will be at 30th June, 1964, and 31st December, 1964, but the figure will be about 25,000, i.e. approximately the sum of the present numbers in the Ministry of Defence and the three Service Departments.