§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent action he has taken to reduce the number of civilian employees of his Department and of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [18817]
§ Dr. MoonieI assume the hon. Member is referring to civilian employees of the Department whether working in direct support of the armed forces or elsewhere in the Ministry of Defence. As explained in the Strategic Defence Review White Paper (Cm 3999), changes in civilian personnel numbers result from the drive for greater effectiveness and better value for money. Para 30 section 2.1 of the UK Defence Statistics 2001 contains details of the changes and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.