Chief of Staff
(12 years ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr Mark Francois)
In response to parliamentary questions from the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) on 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 456, I provided information on the costs of household staff supporting the chief of the defence staff, the vice-chief of the defence staff and the chiefs of the naval, general and air staffs.
I noted in that answer that it was not yet possible to give the hon. Member for North Durham the costs for the financial year 2011-12, as they were still being compiled. I am now in a position to provide those figures, and they are set out in the table below.
The 2009-10 and 2010-11 figures in the table have been reviewed and updated and are now consistent with the methodology used to calculate the 2011-12 figures, on a capitation rate basis.
Post | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
Chief oft he Defence Staff | 107,000 | 114,000 | 117,000 |
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff | 44,000 | 46,000 | 57,000 |
First Sea Lord/Chief of the Naval Staff | 161,000 | 155,000 | 113,000 |
Chief of the General Staff | 124,000 | 91,000 | 59,000 |
Chief of the Air Staff | 112,000 | 116,000 | 121,000 |
Total for Chiefs of Staff | 548,000 | 522,000 | 467,000 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds and, as before, do not include drivers.
The table shows that the total costs of the household staff of the five chiefs of staff have been reduced by some 15% since 2009-10.
In addition, it has been decided that once the current service chiefs of staff leave their posts, we will take the opportunity to rationalise the provision of residences. This will enable the release of tenancies including that in Kensington palace.
We remain committed to bearing down on the costs associated with senior staff. Changes to the entitlements for senior officers, which have been implemented since 2010, include a revised policy on official hospitality, saving £2.5 million per year, and the discontinuation of official service residence status, estimated to save a further £3 million annually. Broader measures range from a new model for outer office support staff, to restrictions on first and business class travel.