Whilst it's true that, in the end, no Hercs or VC 10s were withdrawn, the AE figures for both were reduced, with all that that meant for crew numbers, spares procurement and so forth. The VC 10 went from 13 to 11 as I recall, and I simply can't remember the number for the Herc fleet at this distance. (Having been involved at Upavon in some early work for MOD on fleet sizes against given tasks, the initial announcement to retain the Belfast came as a surprise, as all the guidance then had pointed towards a Herc and VC 10 fleet on numerical grounds.)
The Herc fleet was reduced to 48 aircraft, with the rest as 'in use reserves'. Two squadrons, 48 and 36, were stood down. I think at the time of the decision 62 C Mk1s remained on the books of the 66 purchased.