§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs of(a) the Department and (b) each of its sponsored agencies were in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [90715]
§ Dr. MoonieThe running costs of the Ministry of Defence as a whole were £14,770 million in 1997–98. This figure is the net expenditure included in the Appropriation Account for that year, excluding systems procurement expenditure in the Procurement Executive (now the Defence Procurement Agency). It is cash based and includes expenditure on military and civilian personnel costs, movements, stores and spares, research and works services.
In accordance with the Government Resource Accounting Act 2000, the Department's financial performance is now reported to Parliament in the Consolidated Departmental Resource Accounts.
The net operating cost of the MOD as a whole, as reported in the 2001–02 Departmental Resource Account, was £32,239 million. This figure is on a resource basis and includes military and civilian personnel costs, property management and equipment support costs, stock consumption, depreciation, impairment on fixed assets and cost of capital charges.
Information on agencies' expenditure is contained in the Annual Report and Accounts of each agency, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.