HC Deb 05 May 1976 vol 910 c380W
Mr. Canavan

asked 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 Rodgers

The 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.