Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much VAT was paid by his Department to HM Treasury in each of the last three years; whether such payments are notional balance sheet transactions ; and whether such payment count towards the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP spent on defence.

The table below provides details of VAT paid and not recovered by MOD’s main VAT registration for the previous three financial years (FY).

These payments are not notional balance sheet transactions. They are are actual cash payments made by MOD and are accordingly considered part of the Department’s spend for NATO purposes.