§ Mr. David Howellasked the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will now give a breakdown of his £62 million estimate of the approximate total cost to date of the Linesman air defence system, showing the approximate costs each year since the project's inception; and whether he will indicate over what period the further £23 million estimated by him as being required for completion will be spent.
§ Mr. John Morris:To prepare an annual breakdown of costs would entail disproportionate effort. Expenditure on Linesman began more than 10 years ago, but the bulk of it has been incurred during the last five years, at an average annual rate of approximately £9 million.
The bulk of the outstanding expenditure will be incurred during the next three years.