§ Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about further dispersal of Ministry of Defence staffs from Central London.
§ Mr. ReynoldsI have decided in principle that there shall be a further measure of dispersal of Ministry of Defence work from Central London. The range of location is, in practice, seriously limited by operational considerations and the location of the principal Command Headquarters and establishments of the Services, which are in the main in the southern half of the country, and this limitation has precluded consideration, for example, of Development Areas in the North of England and in Scotland. I contemplate moving work on which about 2,500 staff are at present employed. Up 369W to 1,500 jobs would go to South Wales where I have Cardiff in mind, and the remainder to Bath, where there is already a sizeable Ministry of Defence establishment. In view of the need to make proper arrangements for housing and office accommodation for these numbers, the moves are planned to take place in about 1973. Some of the staff will be required to move from London, but there will be considerable scope for local recruitment. In accordance with normal Whitley procedures, consultation is taking place with the Staff Side about the arrangements needed to carry out this further dispersal.