§ 29. Mr. George Rodgersasked the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of gross national product spent on defence in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other Warsaw Pact countries.
§ Mr. MulleyThere are no reliable figures for the defence expenditure of member States of the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union, in particular, has not been willing to take part in the United Nations Secretary-General's proposals for a pilot study on standardised reporting of military expenditure. Our assessment, however, suggests that the Soviet Union spends around 11 per cent. to 13 per cent. of its gross national product on defence.
§ 31. Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on which members of the Warsaw Pact spend a larger percentage of their gross national product on defence than Great Britain.
§ Mr. MulleyReliable figures for Warsaw Pact countries are not available, but we estimate that the USSR spends a larger percentage of its GNP on defence than does the United Kingdom.