HC Deb 12 February 1998 vol 306 cc296-7W
Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-career civil servants have been appointed to his Department since 1 May 1997. [25857]

Mr. Spellar

The number of casual, fixed term appointees and special advisers appointed between 1 May and 30 November 1997, which is the latest information available, is 3,032, broken down as follows:

  • Special advisers:
  • Fixed term appointments: 840
  • Casual appointments (including sandwich course students): 2,190.

This figure does not include fee earners such as consultants, chaplains and medical staff.

The 840 fixed term appointments includes, for example, management accountants brought in to implement Resource Accounting and Budgeting, and administrative support staff at the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow. Casual staff are employed for a variety of reasons, for example, to cover temporary increases in workload, maternity or long term sick leave, and in situations where units or establishments are due to close.