HC Deb 31 March 2004 vol 419 cc1481-2W
Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which current equipment programmes have been delayed owing to insufficient funding for them within his Department's budget. [162644]

Mr. Ingram

Many factors might cause the Ministry of Defence to make adjustments to its equipment-related spending plans, either for the current financial year or beyond.

These include the need to: reflect changes in priority between different military capabilities; ensure coherence between projects; take advantage of emerging technologies; deal with technical or commercial issues; as well as to ensure that the Department remains within its allocated resources. Changes to the timing of individual projects are very often due to a combination of these factors.