To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the change in the annual cost to his Department of maintaining the empty public buildings owned by his Department as a result of the April 2008 changes to empty property rate relief. (267135)

Due to the specialist nature of the majority of the defence estate, its lack of any commercial value in rating terms and the recognition that any vacant estate is normally to be disposed of, the incremental cost of change to empty property rate relief is minimal.