Manpower substitutes are only engaged to fill funded posts until permanent recruitment can be completed or where the posts cannot be filled by other means. They are particularly important where units are closing or merging to enable permanent staff to be redeployed to secure posts while maintaining the role of the unit until closure, to ensure that services to the front line or other critical areas do not suffer gaps while permanent recruitment takes place or to temporarily fill specialist posts where the gap is caused by the individual being forward deployed.
While a great deal of work is being undertaken to increase the information available on the amount of money spent across the Ministry of Defence on manpower substitutes, this work is still ongoing and will improve further as the People Pay and Pensions Agency assumes more responsibility for delivering manpower substitution services for more categories of temporary staff. Consequently, the information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.