§ 50. Mr. G. Williamsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will provide a list of the research institutes which receive a grant-in-aid for working on matters of interest to the horticultural industry, together with the approximate annual cost to public funds of each; and, in view of the fact that the total number of horticultural research institutions now exceeds 30, what initiative he has taken to promote adequate co-ordination and avoidance of overlapping.
§ Mr. NugentAs the reply is rather long and contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate particulars in the OFFICIAL REPORT. In answer to the second part of the Question, the duty of co-ordinating the work of the research institutions and of avoiding overlapping rests with the Agricultural Research Council.
Following are the particulars:There are some 30 agricultural research and experimental centres concerned with crop investigations whose work is of interest to farmer and horticulturist alike. These centres include establishments such as the Rothamsted Experimental Station, the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, and the Ministry's Experimental Horticulture Stations. In the research institutions whose work is of general application it is not possible to distinguish the element in the grant which relates to horticultural work. Six grant-aided institutions in Great Britain are primarily concerned with horticultural research as follows:
| Estimated provision 1955–56 (current expenditure) | |
| £ | |
| East Mailing Research Station | 168,000 |
| Long Ashton Research Station | 105,000 |
| John Innes Horticultural Institution | 59,000 |
| Glasshouse Crops Research Institute | 61,000 |
| National Vegetable Research Station | 57,000 |
| Scottish Horticultural Research Institute | 50,100 |