Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the current information presented in the Statement on the Defence Estimates provides information on defence expenditures on the basis of the categories set out in the United Nations document "Instrument for Standardised International Reporting of Military Expenditures"; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonInformation provided to the United Nations on defence expenditures is on the basis of categories designed to meet the United Nations's reporting requirements, which differ from those used in the current "Statement on the Defence Estimates"—SDE. There are no plans to adopt the United Nations categorisation for future SDE's although we will continue to review the public presentation of data, as the new management strategy develops, with a view to providing the greatest possible visibility of the defence programme.