§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence why there has been a consistent loss of professional and technological staff from his Department over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe number of MOD professional and technical officers (P and TOs) fell from 23,400 to 14,700 between 1 April 1983 and 1 January 1988. Most of this reduction is accounted for by the transfer out of MOD employment of P and TOs in the royal dockyards (3,200) and the royal ordnance factories (2,700). The balance is attributable partly to the general reduction in MOD manpower numbers and partly to a shortfall in replacing normal losses.
As stated in paragraphs 518 to 520 of the "Statement on Defence Estimates 1988" the problems of recruitment and retention of civilian staff are being tackled in several ways: for P and TOs especially, by improved pay arrangements, a new recruitment strategy, and building on the progress made by the formation of the defence engineering service.