Written question asked by Lord Cunningham of Felling (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 February 1997. It was answered by Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Conservative) on Thursday, 27 February 1997 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: How much his Department has spent on proof and experimental work carried out overseas, broken down by the countries in which this work takes place, in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of this work which could be carried out at range facilities in the United Kingdom. - Inc fact that detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Answer: Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on proof and experimental work carried out overseas, broken down by the countries in which this work takes place, in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of this work which could be carried out at range facilities in the United Kingdom. [17673] Mr. Arbuthnot: The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A preliminary survey, however, indicates that in the past five years more than £8 million has been spent on proof and experimental work in a range of overseas countries. Such work is conducted overseas when it provides better value for money, or when no suitable range is available in the UK, or when extreme climate conditions are required.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 17673; 291 c370W
Session: 1996-97
Subjects: Defence Weapons Research Testing Government research establishments Firing ranges
Contains statistics: Yes