§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations his Department has received concerning the reduction in civilian staff operating within the Services and defence establishments; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. HayhoeThe Secretary of State has received deputations from the departmental staff side and from the Defence Police Federation, and the Minister of State has received one from the departmental trade unions. All three expressed concern about the size of the reductions and their implementation. The Government are committed to reducing the size of the Civil Service and we are determined that the Ministry of Defence, which employs about one-third of the total, should contribute its fair share by such measures as increasing efficiency and ensuring that it does not carry out work which can be done more efficiently elsewhere.