Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how the Ministry of Defence plans to reduce its civilian staff to 41,000 by the end of this Parliament.
Answer
The 30 per cent reduction in Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian headcount will be achieved by making Defence significantly more efficient overall. A Future Defence Civilian Programme (FDCP) has been set up to identify and deliver the reductions; its first priority is to ensure that military capability and other key Defence outputs are not adversely impacted by these changes.
We do not anticipate an increased requirement for consultants to advise the MOD following the reduction in civilian headcount.
The Department is developing a Civilian Workforce Strategy for 2020 and beyond. This will set the vision for creating the future shape of the civilian workforce and for civil servants working at the MOD, and will be published before the end of the year. This Strategy is informing our initial study to scope a range of Departmental functions and activities that present opportunities for greater efficiency and productivity, smarter working within and across organisational boundaries, improved exploitation of technology, and better delivery models. The initial scoping study is due to conclude in early 2017.