§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the actual expenditure on new ships for the Royal Navy in each of the last 20 years; and what are the figures expressed in current prices.
§ Mr. Blaker[pursuant to his reply, 19 May 1982, c. 132]: The following table gives expenditure on construction of new ships, including their fitted weapons systems, but excluding certain items such as aircraft and first outfits of stores. The figures also include an element for departmental administrative overheads, but exclude VAT. Figures are not available before 1963–64.
Expenditure (£ million) Year Actual At 1981–82 prices 1963–64 56.2 523 1964–65 73.8 647 1965–66 76.4 639 1966–67 71.0 571 1967–68 78.4 600 1968–69 80.0 583 1969–70 66.9 428 1970–71 54.7 304 1971–72 58.5 271 1972–73 68.6 284 1973–74 105.8 394 1974–75 95.1 282 1975–76 155.9 344 1976–77 253.3 482 1977–78 258.3 431 1978–79 315.9 459 1979–80 378.5 491 1980–81 494.5 554 *1981–82 680.0 680 * Estimated.