§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost of administration of his Department expressed in constant prices in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. PattieThe total cost of administration of the Ministry of Defence expressed in 1982–83 prices in each of the last four years was as follows:
£ million 1979–80 7,856.5 1980–81 7,769.9 1981–82 7,999.3 1982–83 8,215.1 The information is taken from the annual scrutinies of departmental running costs which cover only 1979–80 onwards. Constant prices have been calculated by means of GDP deflators.
The wide-ranging nature of the activities covered by these figures rules out the possibility of making valid comparisons with the administrative costs of other Departments. The increase as between 1981–82 and 1982–83 is mainly attributable to Falklands-related expenditure.