Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what proportion the number of armed forces personnel and civilian staff employed by his Department changed between 2011 and 2015.

Mark Lancaster

At 1 April 2011, 38.8 per cent of Senior Personnel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and 61.2 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star (Army Brigadier and equivalent) and above. At 1 April 2015, 39.2 per cent were SCS and 60.8 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star and above.

At 1 April 2011, there were 480 UK Regular personnel ranked One Star and above; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 6.9 per cent to 450.

At 1 April 2011, there were 300 SCS personnel in the MOD; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 5.3 per cent to 290.

The following tables provide the requested breakdown, by year, of UK Regular Strength at One Star and above, and SCS headcount:

UK Regular Strength at One Star and above

SCS Headcount

The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2011 was 186,360. The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2015 was 153,720. This represents a 17.5 per cent decrease between 2011 and 2015.

The MOD civilian staff (CS) headcount at 1 April 2011 was around 87,000. The CS headcount at 1 April 2015 was 59,900. This represents an estimated decrease of 31.2 per cent between 2011 and 2015.