To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was to his Department of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123141]

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Cost of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials
£ millions
(January to December)	Total Cost1
1999	2.637
2000	2.656
2001	2.368
2002	3.395
1 Cost of equipment, call charges and access charges.

Information for 1997 and 1998 is not available. All figures quoted are exclusive of VAT. The figures also exclude a number of Ministry of Defence users with local agreements who use other networks. Information on this expenditure is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.