§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 May 1998,Official Report, column 437, if he will assess the advantages of publishing the digest of the submissions by (a) Service and (b) Ministry of Defence civilian personnel earlier than the publication of the White Paper on the Strategic Defence Review. [46816]
§ Mr. George RobertsonA digest of submissions from Service personnel and MOD civilian staff to the Strategic Defence Review is being prepared. It will provide a context for some of the decisions in the Review. I therefore see no advantage in publishing the digest earlier than the White Paper.
§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 25 June 1998,Official Report, column 569, for what reasons it was not possible to publish the Strategic Defence Review in the first half of the year. [48167]
§ Mr. George RobertsonIt was not possible to publish the Strategic Defence Review in the first half of the year because final decisions had not been taken.