§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the planned expenditure by his Department, its agencies and public bodies on all forms of support for defence-related research and development in(a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99; and if he will make a statement. [12777]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotInformation concerning expenditure on support for defence-related research and development is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. However, under provisional plans, total departmental expenditure on actual research and development, for the years 1997–98 and 1998–99, is expected to be as follows:
Expenditure (£ million) Year Research Development Total research and development 1997–98 549 1,687 2,236 1998–99 532 1,652 2,184 These data were published in the 1996 "Forward Look of Government-funded Science, Engineering and Technology", which also contains details of my Department's research and development activities.