HL Deb 13 October 1975 vol 364 c765WA
The Viscount MONCKTON of BRENCHLEY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) what are the costs of medical services, education married accommodation and service pensions for the Armed Forces;
  2. (b) whether these sums are deducted from the total defence expenditure; and
  3. (c) how such expenditure compares with defence costs in other NATO countries.

Lord WINTERBOTTOM

The costs of the expenditure referred to are published in the current Defence White Paper (Annexes A and B). In brief, medical services for the current year were estimated to cost £85 million; education £63 million; married accommodation £112 million and Service pensions £233 million. These sums are included in the total of defence expenditure and together amount to about 11 per cent. of the total Defence Budget. Our provision for these items is not readily comparable with that of other NATO countries, because countries display defence statistics differently. But expenditure of this sort is not included under the NATO definition of defence expenditure, and therefore taken into account in comparing the total defence expenditure of NATO countries.