Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are former members of the armed forces.

Information on the numbers of civilian staff in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) who previously served in the Armed Forces is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

As at 1 January 2015, the Ministry of Defence employed 160,700 Service personnel and 64,010 civilian staff. This equated to proportions of 71.5% and 28.5%, respectively. Further analysis of recent trends in Service and civilian personnel strengths can be found in Table 2.03.1 of the Department's 'Bulletin 2.03 - Service and Civilian Personnel' report (revised on 22 January 2015) which can be found at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396759/Bulletin2.03_Personnel_Bulletin-Final_2014_Revised.pdf#page=8