§ MR. SUMMERBELLI beg to ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he can state the number of British gardeners now on the books as qualified applicants for service in the Royal Gardens at Kew.
§ MR. SUMMERBELLI beg to ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he can state whether the Richmond Borough Council recently appealed to his Department for better wages for the gardeners employed at the Royal Gardens at Kew; whether in such appeal the council drew specific attention to the high rate of living in the district as a reason for such increase; and, if so, will he state whether any action was taken thereon.
§ MR. J. A. PEASEA communication on this subject was received from the Mayor of Richmond and was carefully considered. As my hon. friend is aware it has been decided that the present weekly allowance made to the gardeners is sufficient to provide them with adequate means of subsistence. The gardeners are not to any very great extent affected by the somewhat high rentals charged in the district inasmuch as they are all of them unmarried.
§ MR. SUMMERBELLI beg to ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he is aware that his Department recently paid £1 per lecture for two courses of such lectures, that only one student attended, and that such student was not on the staff at Kew; and, if so, would he state what fees were paid by such student.
§ MR. J. A. PEASEThe reply to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. The student to whom my hon. friend refers was employed as a temporary technical assistant and on that account was allowed the privilege of attending the lectures without payment of a fee.