British Army of the Rhine

HC Deb 27 January 1981 vol 997 cc374-5W

Mr. Leighton

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual cost of the British Army of the Rhine; what is the foreign exchange cost; and how much is offset by West Germany.

Mr. Goodhart

The estimated budgetary cost of the British Army of the Rhine in 1980–81 is £1,227 million. The initial incidence of cost on the balance of payments of British Forces Germany—that is British Army of the Rhine and Royal Air Force (Germany)—is estimated to be £7,621 million. The last Anglo-German offset agreement, which was negotiated by the previous Administration, stated that bilateral offset arrangements would cease when the agreement expired on 31 March 1980.