The Ministry of Defence has outlined its current staffing levels and projections for the next year, highlighting ongoing efforts to maintain an efficient and affordable workforce aligned with departmental priorities.
In response to a parliamentary question from Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, MP for Slough, the MOD confirmed that as of 1 October 2024, the department employed 56,800 full-time equivalent (FTE) civilian personnel. This figure includes staff within the MOD’s main Top Level Budgets, Executive Agencies, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, but excludes locally engaged civilians.
Al Carns, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence, provided the details, stating:
“We are working to ensure our workforce remains affordable and targeted at delivering the Department’s priorities and are committed to achieving a more efficient and effective civil service.”
The MOD forecasts a reduction in civilian personnel, estimating a workforce of 55,430 FTE by 1 April 2025. This projection is based on assumptions informed by historical staff turnover and current recruitment plans. Carns clarified that this figure is not a target but an indicative number used for planning purposes.
“This figure represents only one part of MOD’s workforce, and the actual figure may be impacted by changes to the size and shape of other workforce types including military staff, reservists and contractors,” he noted.
For non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by the MOD, staffing levels and human resources policies are delegated to the organisations themselves, and information is not held centrally by the MOD.
The staffing forecast reflects the MOD’s broader commitment to achieving efficiency while delivering its strategic objectives. However, changes in recruitment, outflow rates, or the broader structure of the defence workforce could impact the final figures.
56,800 for the smallest army, air force and navy the UK has ever had. Effectively no changes of any note for over ten years. The MOD badly needs looking at.
We have small forces now, but the scope of what they do hasn’t drastically changed over time, just the amount of kit and people we chuck at things. I reckon if we had another 1000,000 serving, the size of the MOD would be about the same.