§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the staff establishment of his Department on 1 April 1979 and on 1 April of the current year; and what was the shortfall on these figures, if any, and the grades and geographical regions where the shortfall occurred.
§ Mr. PattieThe number of Ministry of Defence civilians for whom provision380W was made in the Defence Estimates at 1 April 1979 was 263,300 compared with a strength at that date of 262,900. The corresponding figures for 1 April 1980 are 255,600 and 254,500. These figures exclude staff employed in Royal Ordnance factories; their costs are met by a trading fund. Information on the division of staff between home and overseas and the strength in United Kingdom regions is given in the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1980 tables 5.4 and 5.5. I regret that a breakdown of these figures by grades is not readily available.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many catering staff are employed by his Department; and how many he expects to replace by contracting out catering services.
§ Mr. PattieThere are some 11,000 complemented catering posts in MOD establishments throughout Great Britain, although because of various measures, including a current ban on Civil Service recruiting, the number of catering staff presently employed is lower than this. We are currently examining in detail the catering task at about 50 static establishments: these establishments together have about 1,650 catering posts. The exercise is still at an early stage; decisions will be taken on a case by case basis, and it is impossible as yet to say how many staff may be affected. Staff interests will be consulted before decisions are taken.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many cleaning staff are employed by his Department; and how many he expects to replace by contracting out cleaning services.
§ Mr. PattieThere are about 7,350 complemented cleaning posts in MOD establishments throughout Great Britain: because of the effect of a current Civil Service recruiting ban and other present measures not all these posts are presently filled. A preliminary survey has shown that contractors can generally offer a comparable service at lower cost, and we are currently examining in detail the relative costs and other implications of changing to contract cleaning; the first stage of this work is concentrating on the larger MOD establishments. Decisions will be made on the merits of each case 381W where contract is shown to be cheaper. The exercise is as yet at too early a stage to say how many staff may be affected: we are committed to consulting staff interests before any decisions are taken.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the cost of contracting out cleaning services for defence establishments in the Bath area.
§ Mr. PattieThis information is subject to the normal conventions of commercial confidentiality, and I cannot therefore disclose the costs. Overall, the letting of new contracts at Bath will save 5 per cent. on the costs of directly employed labour, even including 15 per cent. VAT on the contractors' part. I am satisfied that contract represents a good deal for the Department and we are consequently proceeding at once to the issue of contracts and redundancy notices.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current cost of providing cleaning services for Ministry of Defence establishments in the Bath area.
§ Mr. PattieThe annual cost of providing cleaning services in all Ministry of Defence establishments at Bath is just over £299,700 at current prices.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many cleaning staff will be made redundant in defence establishments in the Bath area to allow the services to be contracted out; how many years they have worked on average for the Ministry of Defence; and what will be the cost of making them redundant.
§ Mr. PattieIncluding supervisory staff, 67 people will be made redundant in MOD establishments in Bath with the change to contract cleaning. Their average length of service with MOD is four years five months. The amount of compensation due on premature retirement through redundancy is about £27,000.