Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) permanent staff, (b) temporary staff and (c) contractors are employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment; and how many such staff he expects to be employed at that Establishment in each of the next three years.

There are 4,920 permanent staff and 890 contractors employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). These figures represent full time equivalent staff, rounded to the nearest ten.

Contractors working at AWE but employed by sub-contractor companies are not included as this information is not held centrally.

Over the next three years, staffing levels will depend on programme demand.