"Yes, 80-odd thousand MOD Civil Servants is excessive but many of them are essential if the military are to function - isn't that why the current shower are streamlining MOD and thinning out some of the MOD Civil Servants? Abolishing the MOD in toto is just plain dumb!"
the current target is 52,500 in 2 years time, and last I heard they were already down to 65,000. Its worth noting that the MOD CS is being cut by more under the SDSR than all three services combined, even though the powers that be hadnt worked out whether the same comensurate reduction in workload could be made.
The interesting stat I heard recently is that barely 2% of the MOD CS are involved in Policy, and the rest are involved in delivery or other roles.