§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence by how much United Kingdom spending on military research and development has increased in real terms in the past 10 years; what are the reasons for the increase; 160W and what information he has on the level of spending in the other European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
§ Mr. LeeDefence spending on research and development over the last 10 years, adjusted to 1984–85 prices, has been as follows:
£ million 1975–76 1,829 1976–77 1,787 1977–78 1,853 1978–79 1,937 1979–80 2,036 1980–81 2,151 1981–82 2,017 1982–83 1,886 1983–84 2,001 1984–85 2,106* * Original estimates The level of spending on defence research and development reflects the requirements of the defence equipment programme. Properly comparable statistics are not available for other European countries. Some information is given in the "Annual Review of Government Funded R&D" based on OECD data.