asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost of the defence of the Falkland Islands since the end of the conflict; and what percentage of the expenditure involved represents payments to United Kingdom-based contractors in respect of construction works, and so on.

For total costs, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon.Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) on 29 January at columns 155–56. For the costs of construction and works, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the under-Secretary of State for the Environment to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 30 January at column 181. All payments have been made to United Kingdom based contractors, although in a few cases material and equipment have been procured by the main contractors from non-United Kingdom-based suppliers.