§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the administrative costs of his Department's Procurement Executive at Abbey Wood are(a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the defence budget in the current financial year. [8215]
§ Mr. SpellarThe internal operating cost budget (i.e. excluding extramural research, non-Abbey Wood capital works and equipment procurement expenditure) of the Procurement Executive at Abbey Wood and elsewhere is some £325 million or 1.5 per cent. of the Defence budget in the current financial year.