asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the mobilised strength of Her Majesty's Forces and the number of civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence, respectively, in 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1980.

The total strength of the Armed Forces—excluding reserves but including locally entered personnel—on the dates shown was as follows:

1 April 1950	785,000
1 April 1960	559,000
1 April 1970	393,000
1 April 1980	329,000

Central records of civilian strengths started in 1964 when the unified Ministry of Defence was formed. The figures for 1970 and 1980 were given in my reply to my hon. Friend on 31 July 1980.—[Vol. 989, c. 835.]