Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 January 2017, Defence Infrastructure Reform, what planned savings in running costs are expected in each of the 10 years of the programme.

As set out in the Better Defence Estate strategy published in November 2016 the Ministry of Defence will be investing £4 billion over 10 years to create a Defence estate which supports capability by being of better quality, more cost effective and efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall by 2040.

The strategy will also derive savings of more than £140 million in running costs over ten years, rising to nearly £3 billion by 2040, which can be re-invested back into Defence.

The profile across the 10-year programme of planned costs, savings and receipts is being refined to support the investment approval decisions for the implementation programmes.

The recommendations of our review into how the estate is managed and infrastructure decisions taken across Defence, which were set out in my Written Statement of 13 January 2017 (HCWS410), will help ensure that every pound we spend on our estate represents optimum value for money.