Defence Expenditure

HC Deb 26 October 1995 vol 264 cc739-40W

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the savings that could be made annually by linking British defence expenditure to the average level of other western European countries. [39252]

Mr. Waldegrave

None. UK defence expenditure is determined by UK defence needs and spending priorities. It would be meaningless to link it to the average of other countries' defence spending.