Seldom,
The size of the UK defence budget is not set by senior officers, but by politicians.
Hopefully this link...
Defence Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1981-2011 - Central Government Local Authorities
...shows the change in the MOD budget graphically. What happened in the late 90s, it went down. From about 1988 to 2003 the defence budget increased by about 50%, from £20Bn to £30Bn.
In the same period the NHS budget almost tripled, i.e went up by 200%
Health Care Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1981-2011 - Central Government Local Authorities
...and UK GDP (yes, its in $), went up by about 100%.
Google - public data
Many procurement decisions, as I said before, have a political input. When looking for an "off the shelf" pilot trainer years ago, the RAF compared 3, and wanted the Swiss PC-9. What did it get, the Brazilian Tucano. Why? Because the Tucano was going to be assembled by Shorts in Belfast, and the politicians wanted to boost employment in that area. That is the kind of situation the senior military finds itself trying to have to live with....!!
I'm not saying that military senior management is perfect, from from it, or hasn't made some bad decisions, but to ignore the input from our political masters - as is about to happen now - is totally blinkered!
Perhaps you need to get that anti officer chip off your shoulder....
And when are you retiring?
