§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the offset payments received from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for each year since 1970–71 to date; and what proportion of the foreign exchange costs of maintaining British forces in Germany were covered by these payments in each year.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe following table sets out the approximate sterling value of each offset agreement since 1969, the foreign exchange costs of stationing British forces in Germany for each year since then and the percentage of these foreign exchange costs for each period represented by the offset agreement. It is not possible to give year by year figures.
55W
Approximate sterling value of each offset agreement (£ million) Foreign exchange costs (£ million) Percentage of foreign exchange costs these agreements represent 1969–70 172 110 71 1970–71 132 1971–72 220 172 16 1972–73 206 1973–74 283 1974–75 340 1975–76 405 1976–77 — 513 — 1977–78 126 527 7 1978–79 619 1979–80 661 The foreign exchanges costs on which these percentages are based represent only the initial incidence on the balance of payments and do not take into account offsetting factors arising from the presence of troops in Germany instead of the United Kingdom.