To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government spent in relation to their nuclear weapons in each of the last five years. (80833)

Trident is our only nuclear weapons system. Since the Trident nuclear deterrent became operational in 1994, annual expenditure for capital and operating costs, including the costs for the Atomic Weapons Establishment, has ranged between 3 and 4.5 per cent. of the annual defence budget.