Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the NATO definition of defence expenditure. [205677]

Mr Brazier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Reserves: NATO defines defence expenditure as payments made by a national Government specifically to meet the needs of its armed forces. NATO publishes the defence expenditure of NATO countries regularly on its website at:

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49198.htm

The published figures represent payments actually made or to be made during the course of the financial year.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of his Department’s returns to the annual United Nations Report on Military Expenditure in each of the last 15 years. [205678]

Mr Brazier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Reserves: Copies of the Ministry of Defence’s return to the United Nations Report on Military Expenditure covering the period 2002-11 are available on the UN’s website at:

http://www.un-arm.org/Milex/CountryProfile.aspx?CountryId=205

We are investigating whether returns for 1999-2001 and 2012-14 were required to be submitted, and I will write once this has been verified.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of his Department’s returns to the annual NATO defence expenditure survey for each of the last 15 years. [205679]

Mr Brazier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Reserves: The UK returns to the annual NATO defence expenditure survey are based primarily on the MOD’s annual report and accounts. In order to meet the NATO definition of defence expenditure, they also include the payments made via the armed forces pension scheme, all of which are already in the public domain.

NATO also publishes the defence expenditure of NATO countries regularly on its website at:

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49198.htm

The published NATO figures represent payments actually made or to be made during the course of the financial year.

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