To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours (a) in total and (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available. (195826)

The annual number of hours worked by civil servants in the Ministry of Defence during 2007-08 was about 140.5 million, representing an average per employee of about 1,950 hours (equivalent to 37.5 hours per week). This figure is extrapolated from an analysis of hours worked in the first week of March 2008. It includes basic conditioned hours plus overtime and any other additional working hours, but excludes staff employed in MOD Trading Funds or locally employed staff overseas.