§ 42. Mr. Michael Spicerasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to correct the imbalance of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation conventional forces against Warsaw Pact forces in central Europe.
§ Mr. MulleyAt the Washington NATO summit in May 1978, Heads of State and Government considered a long-term defence programme—LTDP—developed in order to ensure that the defensive capability of the North Atlantic Alliance would remain fully effective in the face of the continuing build-up in Warsaw Pact strength. They endorsed a wide range of measures designed to help adapt NATO's defence posture to meet the challenges of the 1980s. The United Kingdom has played a full and positive part in the LTDP and is reassessing its defence programme with a view to accommodating as many LTDP measures as possible.
Moreover, we responded promptly to the call by NATO to aim for real increases in defence budgets of around 3 per cent. This has helped us to make a number of improvements to United Kingdom Forces including an increase in the planned size of the Army by 6,000 men.