§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission a study of the cost savings that would be made from linking British defence expenditure to the average level of out western European partners. [39250]
§ Mr. SoamesNo. United Kingdom defence expenditure is determined by the Government's assessment of the UK's defence needs and spending priorities. It would be wrong to link defence spending to the average of other countries' defence spending.