We spoke last week about the apparent discrepancy between the figures given for the MoD's efficiency baseline in our written answers to the questions posed by the Committee on the Strategic Defence Review and Mr Balmer's oral evidence on 23 July (Q2955).

  As I explained, the former is a broad order figure for the current financial year based on LTC 98 prices, and rounded to the nearest £½ Billion; expressed in cash this would be about £15.8 Billion. This is consistent with the figure subsequently quoted by Mr Balmer, although he was referring to the cash value of the baseline in each of the next three years.