To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of planned civilian redundancies within his Department on the operational capabilities of the armed forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to outsource any of its jobs and functions to the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian jobs and functions within his Department have been outsourced to the private sector in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Defence is critically reviewing all activities and functions undertaken by the civilian workforce. We will review and test, based on value for money assessments, how these activities and functions could best be done in the future. The achievement of the Department's objectives, including the delivery of front-line operational capabilities, remains our priority. Alternative delivery models will be evaluated.

The Department outsourced 4,090 staff between Financial Year (FY) 2012-13 and FY2016-17 (inclusive), broken down by year as follows: FY2012-13 (380 staff); FY2013-14 (zero staff); FY2014-15 (2,355 staff); FY2015-16 (1,130 staff) and FY2016-17 (225 staff).