§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Defence, following the public rebuke from NATO's Secretary General, Dr. Luns, over the United Kingdom's successive unilateral defence cuts, what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to meet NATO's specific criticisms.
§ Mr. MulleyThe Secretary General of NATO wrote to me in September to convey the views of the Alliance on our provisional selection of measures to achieve the reduction in defence expenditure in 1978–79 which was announced last December. Dr. Luns's letter recognised the efforts which we are making to ensure that the savings are achieved with the minimum effect on the United Kingdom front line contribution to NATO. The letter also called for higher defence budget levels in future years in line with the effort being demanded of202W all NATO Allies. These views will be considered in the current Public Expenditure Survey for 1979–80.