§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the responsibilities of each of the deputy secretaries in his Department and the number and ranks of staff reporting to each.
§ Mr. ButlerThe information requested is as follows:
1. RESPONSIBILITIES
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Policy) and his staff, both military and civilian, keep under review defence strategy and policy in their planning and presentational aspects, and carry out long-range studies. The grouping brings together nuclear planning, policy and operational issues.
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Resources and Programmes) is responsible for co-ordinating the annual long-term costing, including the issue of assumptions in accordance with priorities developed jointly with the defence staff, and for the Ministry's contribution to the Government's public expenditure survey. Major proposals for expenditure, including new equipment programmes, are scrutinised on behalf of the permanent under secretary of state by the finance staff accountable to Deputy Under Secretary (Resources and Programmes).
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Finance), as the principal finance officer, is responsible for the Ministry's financial management, including cost control and accounts and matters of parliamentary accountability and propriety. All senior finance officers in the Ministry have a responsibility to the PFO.
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Personnel and Logistics) exercises central responsibility for financial scrutiny of expenditure proposals in the service personnel and logistics areas; and deals with defence lands and works, legal, claims and health and safety policy. He is responsible for the supervision and direction of secretariat aspects of single Service personnel and logistics work.
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Defence Procurement) is responsible for the formulation and co-ordination of Ministry of Defence 150W procurement policy (including industrial, sales and international aspects), MOD procurement processes and procedures, for relations with industry and other Government Departments on defence equipment issues, and general issues affecting the Procurement Executive as a whole, including the allocation of PE manpower and privatisation. He is also responsible for coordination of the PE element of long term costing and defence Estimates, general oversight of the work of the Director General Defence Contracts and the Director General of Quality Assurance.
§ Deputy Under Secretary (Civilian Management) is the Ministry's principal establishment officer responsible for civilian personnel management, training and conditions, industrial relations and other support functions, including headquarters security and office services.
§ Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser is responsible for day-to-day management of the central scientific staff and the Defence Operational Analysis Establishment (excluding the nuclear area) and for the professional scientific oversight of all headquarters scientists. He has particular responsibility for operational analysis policy, the formulation of priorities for defence research and technology, including liaison with outside bodies, and advising the chief scientific adviser on the technical and operational feasibility of equipment proposals.
§ Director General Meteorological Office controls the Meteorological Office. He is responsible for the United Kingdom state meteorological service, including the provision of services to defence, civil aviation, industry and commerce, and the general public, and research in all aspects of meteorology, as well as for United Kingdom participation in the international arrangements for meteorological services and research.
§ Director Royal Aircraft Establishment is responsible for the management of the Royal Aircraft Establishment and all its activities; and for providing advice on aerospace matters to MOD and the Department of Trade and Industry.
§ Deputy Controller Establishments and Research is responsible for the overall policy governing the allocation and control of establishment resources (manpower, finance and capital facilities) to meet the needs of the defence research and equipment programme. He is responsible for the defence research programme including research by contract in industry and the universities, and for intramural research collaboration, and for co-ordination of the technology demonstrator programme. He is also chairman of the steering committee on capital expenditure.
§ Director Atomic Weapons Research Establishment is responsible for the management of the establishment and the conduct of its work for research and development production, including related responsibilities for safety, personnel, capital expenditure and technical co-operation with the United States of America.
§ Deputy Controller Warships is responsible, after acceptance of the naval staff target, for the design, development, production introduction into service, acceptance and support of all warships to meet approved MOD requirements.
§ Deputy Controller Aircraft is the senior civilian officer in the air systems controllerate and engages in corporate decision making on major questions concerned with the aircraft procurement programmes under his control. He is responsible for the overall management of the project officers in his organisation and is accountable to the Chief of Defence Procurement (the accounting officer for Vote 2) for the annual expenditure on projects in his area.
2. NUMBERS AND GRADES
§ Numbers of posts in each of the above areas at grade 3 (under secretary or equivalent), grade 4 (executive director (middle band) or equivalent) and grade 5 (assistant secretary or equivalent) levels are as follows. Because of the substantial reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence which came into effect on 2 January 1985, complementing action and computer programming in the manpower areas are still in progress. Therefore the full breakdown of staff numbers requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost or within the time available.
151W| Centre | Air Force | Procurement Executive | |||||||||||
| DCSA | DUS(P) | DUS(RP) | DUS(F) | DUS(PL) | DUS(CM) | DG Met O | DUS(DP) | DCE | DAWRE | DRAE | DCA | DCW | |
| Grade 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Grade 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Grade 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 20 |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 10 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 22 | 20 | 27 |