§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure was on procurement by each of the services in the last year for which figures are available; and how much of the procurement budget for each was spent in Scotland. [159304]
§ Mr. IngramDetails of procurement expenditure are not available broken down by service. Up to 1998–99 United Kingdom Defence Statistics, published annually by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in UK Defence Statistics (available in the Library of the House), identified expenditure on equipment for the "Sea", "Land" and "Air" environments together with "other" equipment not specific to an environment. This division does not necessarily match the end destination of the equipment. For example not all aerospace equipment is used solely by the RAF. Since 1998–99 the format for recording expenditure has changed following the introduction of Smart Acquisition and the move from cash to Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB). Expenditure on procurement is now subsumed within the Principal Headings of the Defence Budget (Table 1.3 of the 2003 UK Defence Statistics). The Government's most recent expenditure plans for Defence (Cm 5912) published in May 2003 also identify procurement expenditure under the RAB regime. The 2002–03 accounts of the Defence Procurement Agency, HC2, are available in the Library of the House, and provide a summary of its expenditure on equipment procurement against the major Defence capability areas. Detail of equipment expenditure by region has not been included in the UK Defence Statistics since 2001.