Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the projected increase in defence expenditure during the current Parliament his Department expects to spend on (a) equipment and (b) the maintenance of equipment.

As a result of the increase in the Defence Budget following the Spending Round, the rigorous efficiency programme being pursued by the Ministry of Defence and the uplift from the Joint Security Fund, our planned spend on equipment acquisition and support has risen from £166 billion to £178 billion over the ten years of the forward programme. The annual breakdown of the Equipment Plan 2016 will be published in the autumn and will detail the expenditure over this Parliament.