§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of (a) service and (b) civilian staff engaged in the London headquarters of his Department in 1979 and in 1983; and what was the percentage reduction in such staff over this period.
§ Mr. PattieTotal numbers of staff serving in Ministry of Defence headquarters, adjusted for comparability in the light of the revised definition of headquarters, were as follows:
Service Civilian Total 1 April 1979 3,901 23,299 27,200 1 April 1983 3,560 19,855 23,415 Percentage reduction 8.7 14.8 13.9 The London element of these figures could not be identified without disproportionate effort.
§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what reduction in the civilian staff of his Department is envisaged by 1988; how many of these reductions will take place in the London headquarters of his Department; and what percentage of the total civilian staff this represents in each case.
§ Mr. PattieTaking into account the planned privatisation of the royal ordnance factories, the Ministry of Defence civilian manpower target at 1 April 1988 is 170,000, representing a reduction from 1 April 1984 of 29,144, or 14.6 per cent. However, the aim will be to achieve a rate of rundown which significantly betters this target.
The application of greater efficiency and better use of resources covers all activities across the Department including headquarters staff. I cannot predict the scale of reductions in headquarters staff but it will include savings arising from Cmnd. 9315. The London element of headquarters numbers is not readily identifiable.