§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are currently employed by the Meteorological Office; and what was the figure at its inception. [76888]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThis is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Meteorological Office. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Ewins to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 18 March 1999:
Parliamentary Question: Number of people employed by the Met. OfficeI am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the number of people employed by The Met. Office now and at its inception. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of The Met. Office.As at 28 February 1999, The Met. Office employed 2234 staff. When we became an agency on 1 April 1990 the figure was 2447. A breakdown is given below.
1.4.90 28.2.99 Senior Civil Service 10 8 Scientific, managerial, technical 1888 1622 Support 503 585 Locally employed civilians overseas 46 19 Total 2447 2234
You may be interested to know that when The Met. Office was formed in 1854, as part of the Board of Trade to provide meteorological and sea-current information to mariners, it employed just 4 people. Today, our activities include global weather forecasts for defence and civil aviation; specialist services to commerce and industry (including the utilities); a wide range of public meteorological services, including severe weather warnings; and a substantial climate research and prediction programme.