§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from NATO concerning the recent defence cuts.
§ Mr. MulleyOur Allies have, naturally, voiced their serious concern about the further reductions in defence expenditure, but they realise that we intend to keep the effect of our front line contribution to NATO to the absolute minimum. I stressed in the House on 12th January that we were anxious to have the views of our Allies and to work closely with them on the detailed measures necessary to achieve these savings, and I explained how we would achieve this in the coming weeks and months.—[Vol. 923, c. 1455–6.]
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of Her Majesty's Forces will lose their jobs as a result of the recent defence cuts.
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§ Dr. GilbertI do not anticipate any additional Service redundancies as a result of the reduction in the 1977–78 defence budget. We shall be studying in consultation with NATO how the defence budget reduction in 1978–79 is to be achieved. It is therefore too early to say what effects on Service manpower there may be.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the percentage of gross national product devoted to defence during the last five years; and what is his estimate of the percentage of gross national product devoted to defence in the USSR during the same five-year period.
§ Mr. MulleyOver the last five years, the United Kingdom has devoted about 5.6 per cent. of GNP to defence as compared with 5.4 per cent. for NATO as a whole. Current estimates are that the USSR has devoted 11 per cent. to 12 per cent. of GNP to defence over the same period.