§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish, for each of the past 10 years, the number of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe numbers of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence, including those in the Royal ordnance factories, as at 1st April in each of the past 10 years were as follows:
1966 373,600 1967 369,400 1968 355,600 1969 338,100 1970 326,600 1971 345,500 1972 323,600 1973 319,800 1974 314,600 1975 316,700 1976 (estimate) 310,600 Because of changes in the responsibilities of Government Departments, the figures are not directly comparable. Over the period there has been a net transfer of staff from other Departments into the Ministry of Defence in the region of 32,000.