asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will encourage NATO to draw up a suitable yardstick for the measurement of allied defence spending which, by comparing like with like, will provide an accurate basis for comparison.

The NATO comparative statistics are reasonably comprehensive. Precise comparisons of one country's defence burden with that of another are complicated by the fact that national armed forces are differently recruited and composed. The best readily available single comparison is of defence expenditure as a percentage of GNP.