To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on explosive ordnance disposal (a) training and (b) equipment from (i) his Department's core budget and (ii) the contingency reserve in each year since 2005. (321706)

The Ministry of Defence's accountancy systems do not support calculations of aggregate expenditure on all explosive ordnance disposal equipment and training over the last five years. A complete answer to the question could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.