§ Dr. Marekasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with present staff-management consultation procedures at the Welsh plant breeding station, Aberystwyth, in particular, and in the Agricultural and Food Research Council in general.
§ Mr. BrookeYes.
§ Dr. Marekasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will seek from the Agriculture and Food Research Council its reasons for terminating the barley breeding programme at the Welsh plant breeding station, Aberystwyth;
(2) if he will seek from the Agriculture and Food Research Council its reasons for terminating the FI hybrid barley work at the Welsh plant breeding station, Aberystwyth.
811W
§ Mr. BrookeI understand that a strategic overview of the council's research programmes identified an overcommitment to spring barley breeding, of which the FI Hybrid work is one component. Althoug there are three separate spring barley programmes at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) and the Welsh plant breeding station (WPBS), only SCRI and PBI also undertake work on winter barley. The council has concluded that the programme should be rationalised by allocating United Kingdom responsibility for barley breeding to SCRI and PBI. United Kingdom responsibility for oat breeding will remain at WPBS and the station will maintain activities such as surveying cereal pathogens and conducting trials of PBI and SCRI advanced lines. Rationalisation of the barley breeding programme is now proceeding successfully following discussions between scientists at the three institutes concerned.