---

Foreign Affairs and Defence

I am only part-time. The hon. Gentleman suggested that there had been a cut in the investment and accommodation in Scotland. He knows and, with respect, should have been in a position to explain to the House that that is not a proper presentation of the figures. The reason that the two figures appeared to show a reduction in investment was that a substantial project at Glencorse barracks was completed the year before. To present the figures in the way in which the media did—the media at least have had the good grace to suggest that they should apologise—and to replay them in the House was inappropriate. In any event, over the next decade we plan to invest £5 billion in accommodation, but clearly we need to work harder to ensure that all our personnel have access to good quality accommodation. As the Chief of Defence Staff said yesterday, it will be a question of time rather than resource to address the decades of under-investment in accommodation that we inherited and have been seeking to address for the last 10 years.