§ 21. Mr. Gowerasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how much money has been allocated to the work of the Nature Conservancy in Wales to date; and how it has been spent.
§ Mr. Denzil Freeth£233,000 between 1953 and the end of the last financial year. Of this, £86,000 is staff cost, £68,000 was spent on acquisition of nature reserves, £26,000 on research, training and special surveys, and studentships, and £32,000 on equipment.
§ Mr. FreethOne has to consider with the nature reserves the adequacy over the whole of the United Kingdom, but it is a fact that during the period 1953 to March, 1962, nearly 8 per cent. of the expenditure of the Nature Conservancy was spent in Wales, where I understand the population is about 5 per cent. of that of Great Britain.
§ Mr. Robert CookeWill my hon. Friend agree that the amount of public money spent compares most unfavourably with the public interest in this matter?
§ Mr. FreethYes, indeed, and I hope that if my hon. Friend is successful in the Ballot for Motions on Private Members' days, he will bear this fact in mind.