§ Mr. Jannerasked the Minister of Agriculture the present expenditure on agricultural research in England and Wales by the Government; what percentage this represents of the annual value of the total agricultural output; and what immediate plans are under consideration for expanding such research.
§ Mr. T. Williams:The expenditure on agricultural research for which I am directly responsible is expected to amount to approximately £500,000 in the 96W financial year 1945–46. In addition, expenditure on research in that year by the Agricultural Research Council is estimated at £160,000. The Council serves Great Britain and is unable, I am informed, to allocate its expenditure between England and Wales and Scotland, as many of its projects are designed to be of general value and to secure cooperative work by scientists in all three countries.
Expenditure on agricultural research can be taken to be of the order of 0.1 per cent. of the value of the agricultural output. A general scheme for the expansion of agricultural research in Great Britain is now in hand. Steps have, for example, already been taken towards establishing a new organisation for research in animal breeding and genetics, and plans for the creation of a vegetable research station are being actively considered.