NATO Information Service

HC Deb 14 January 1987 vol 108 c199W

Mr. Greenway

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much is being spent on (a) the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation information service in the current year, and (b) how much of this is the United Kingdom's contribution; what was the comparable figure in 1976; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Chalker

The figures are:

	1986	1976
Total Budget	Belgian Francs 143 million (£2.42 million)	Belgian Francs 65 million (£823,000)
United Kingdom contribution	Belgian Francs 26.9 million (£456,000 or 18.82 percent.)	Belgian Francs 12.6 million (£160,000 or 19.5 per cent.)

It is important that information about NATO, which is and will continue to be the bedrock of Western security, should be widely disseminated. We fully support the efforts of the NATO information service to this end.