§ Mr. Hal Millerasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any change in the basis of accounting for the purpose either of the defence budget or the United Kingdom's forward North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commitment.
§ Mr. StanleyThe method of calculating the real terms increase in defence expenditure in 1984–85 of about 3½ per cent. follows past practice but uses as the base line the current rather than the original provision for defence expenditure in 1983–84, i.e. after the reduction announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his statement on 7 July.