§ Mr. Sean HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with respect to the support grades in his Department(a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.
§ Mr. SainsburyAs at 24 April 1989 a total of 2,963 office support grades (messengers, paperkeepers, office keepers, security guards, reprographic grades and Government telephonists) were employed within the Ministry of Defence.
During the period 1 April 1988 to 31 March 1989, the number of temporary and casual appointees was 51 and the amount of overtime worked by these temporary and casual appointees was:
- (a) London—304.5 hours.
- (b) Elsewhere—1,019.5 hours.
The office support grades are employed in Ministry of Defence establishments throughout the United Kingdom 683W and are recruited locally under delegated authority. Therefore, information about vacancies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.