24.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether defence spending as a proportion of gross national product is moving in the opposite direction to the estimated ratio in Warsaw Pact countries.
Over the last five years total defence expenditure by NATO countries has fallen as a proportion of GNP. Over the same period it is estimated that the defence expenditure of the USSR, which accounts for the bulk of the Warsaw Pact, has been increasing, and I drew attention to the implications in my last defence White Paper.
33.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will confirm that any future defence cuts will include no uniformed personnel.
On current plans the future uniformed strengths of the Forces will be substantially as announced in the 1975 defence White Paper.
35.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has recently had on the costs of Great Britain's defence services; and, in particular, in relation to the British contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
I have nothing further to add to the reply I gave earlier this afternoon to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdare (Mr. Evans) and to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mr. Goodhart).