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Ministry of Defence: Staff

Asked by James MacClearyLiberal DemocratMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 16 February 2026UIN 111520

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on internal human resources services each year since 2015.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones

The table below shows the total amount spent each Financial Year (FY) on Civilian Human Resources Services and their associated costs provided by Defence Business Services, the Shared Service for Defence. This includes spend on the following DBS services: People Team, Core Recruitment and Joining Services, Document Management, HR Casework, Payroll Services, Workforce Management, Relocations, and Specialist Recruitment.

It is important to note that the cost-centre mapping structure of DBS has changed significantly since 2015, meaning that figures may not be directly comparable.

Financial Year

Total spent (£million)

2015/16

10.015

2016/17

10.572

2017/18

11.721

2018/19

10.805

2019/20

12.329

2020/21

11.433

2021/22

13.553

2022/23

15.787

2023/24

20.651

2024/25

17.896

Ten year total

134.852

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