§ Mr. Sandysasked the Secretary of State for Defence what increases are being made in the size of the British armed forces in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, outside the Federation of South Arabia; what additional accommodation and other facilities are being provided at these stations; what is the estimated cost of providing these facilities; and what is the extra annual cost of maintaining these additional forces in that area over and above the cost of maintaining them in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. ReynoldsOn the first part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the "Statement on Defence Estimates, 1967" (Cmnd. 3203). Additional facilities will include living accommodation, provision of services, telecommunications, technical requirements and amenities. Expenditure on these facilities in 1966–67 amounted to £2.5 million, and another £8.5 million is expected to be incurred by the end of the financial year 1967–68. These sums cover both the facilities planned earlier, and those directly attributable to the redeployment. The extra cost in respect of personnel is expected to be about £0.5 million.