§ 52. Commander Purseyasked the Minister of Defence if he will ascertain and publish the average cost per head of the population for defence purposes for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, respectively.
§ Mr. AlexanderThe average cost of defence per head of population in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the financial year 1948–1949 will be about £14. It would not be appropriate for me to publish estimated costs in the Commonwealth countries. My hon. Friend can obtain particulars of the populations and defence budgets of those countries for his own information from reference books in the Library.