§ Lord Trefgarneasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have for reducing the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence under Options for Change.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (The Earl of Arran)As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State made clear in his Statement on 25th July 1990 onOptions for Change, our intention is to make substantial savings across the whole field of defence activities. This will involve both the Armed Forces and their civilian support and includes the MoD Headquarters, which we have decided to restructure and slim down proportionately to the overall reductions.
We plan to achieve a smaller and more cohesive central headquarters, resulting in savings of about 20 per cent. in the uniformed and civilian top structure. Generally similar reductions will be carried through the organisation as a whole. The fall in numbers in the London element of the headquarters will be proportionately greater because, in addition, a substantial range of functions will be relocated and will merge with existing support establishments and 77WA Commands elsewhere. On current expectations, staff numbers in London are expected to fall from about 14,500 by some 7,000.
Overall, under Options for Change, the number of MoD civilian posts at home and abroad is currently 78WA expected to fall by about 20 per cent. the same proportion as the Armed Forces. About 20,000 posts will be saved in the UK and 15,000 abroad. This reduction will go forward at the same pace as in the Armed Forces overall.