asked the Secretary of State for Defence what increase or decrease there was in the staff of the Department under his control in the period 16th October, 1964 to 15th October, 1965; and what increase or decrease he anticipates in the period up to 15th April, 1966.

In my reply to the hon. Member's Question on this subject on 2nd April, I forecast a decrease of 5.050 between 16th October, 1964 and 15th October, 1965. This has been achieved and I estimate that a further decrease in the order of 3,000 will be achieved by 15th April next.

While these figures are, superficially, encouraging, what is the specific situation with regard to headquarters staff? Has there been in particular any increase in the Defence Department's headquarters establishment?

In spite of the great burden of additional work that has fallen on headquarters staff over the last 12 months, the total number has been reduced in this period by 102.