§ 62. Mr. PatnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the United Kingdom's defence budget is currently spent on out-of-area commitments.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe estimated cost in 1989–90 of maintaining our overseas commitments in Belize, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands and Hong Kong is £243 million, which represents 1.2 per cent. of the defence budget. This figure includes directly attributable expenditure on capital works and equipment and on running costs for material and manpower. It is not possible to provide directly attributable costs for the Armilla patrol since financial provision is made for the operation of the fleet as a whole.