§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his plans to reduce the number of RAF servicemen and women; and how many(a) military and (b) civilian employees will be affected. [186395]
§ Mr. HoonAs I announced in a statement to the House of Commons on 23 July 2004,Official Report, columns 344–71, we must transform our armed forces so that they can continue to respond effectively to the global challenges of the 21st century. This means modernising the structure of our forces, embracing new technology and focusing on the means by which our armed forces can work together with other Government agencies to meet the threat of international terrorism and the forces of instability in the modern world.
A combination of significant advances in capability, both within some existing aircraft fleets and as a result of the introduction to service of new types, such as Typhoon, and changes in investment towards greater deployability. better targeted action and swifter outcomes have enat led us to make a number of changes in the RAFs force structure. These changes, in conjunction with the achievement of planned organisational efficiencies, will lead to a reduced RAF manpower requirement of around 41,000 by 2008, from a current strength of around 48,500.
In addition to the reductions in service manpower, we envisage reductions of around 10,000 civilian jobs across Defence. These will flow from efficiencies as a consequence of the Department's change programme and other initiatives, as well as changes to the force structure.