To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) scientific advisers and (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department. (301927)

The MOD has 56 scientific adviser posts providing direct advice to military commanders on a number of operations. Seven civil service scientists are currently deployed to Afghanistan. Scientific advisers are part of a community of an estimated 3,000 scientific posts within the civil service in the MOD and its Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) trading fund.