Aircraft Fuel

HC Deb 19 December 2000 vol 360 cc92-3W

Mr. Duncan Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the RAF has spent on aircraft fuel in each of the past five years; and what the RAF fuel budget is for(a) this year and (b) next year. [143051]

Mr. Spellar

[holding answer 15 December 2000]: The amount that the RAF has spent on aircraft fuel in each of the past five years is shown in the following table:

Year	£ million
1995–96	130.98
1996–97	142.86
1997–98	119.81
1998–99	101.06
1999–2000	132.55

The RAF fuel budget for (a) this year and the interim fuel budget (b) for next year is:

	million
(a) 2000–01	132.69
(b) 2001–02	111.71

The amount spent on fuel varies from year to year depending on the level of flying activity, particularly on out of area (OOA) operations, changes in the numbers of aircraft, the unit price of fuel and variations in the level of stock held on stations and in the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS).