§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will break down the proposed Defence Budget referred to in paragraph 38 of Command 425W Paper Number 4521 to show what increase there has been in financial provision for equipment for each of the three services.
§ Lord BalnielThere has been no increase. As Cmnd. 4521 makes clear, the Defence budget targets are lower than the costings of the programmes, including the equipment programmes, inherited from the previous Administration. The targets nevertheless make provision for a number of substantial improvements in our capability.