HL Deb 30 October 1984 vol 456 cc510-2WA
Lord Mulley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

If they will reconsider their decision to close the Weed Research Organisation at Begbroke in view of the excellent record of the establishment over many years, its established facilities and favourable location for its research and the continuing necessity of seeking to sustain this research in the interests of agriculture at the minimum cost.

The Earl of Swinton

The Weed Research Organisation is an institute of the Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC), which is grant-aided by the Department of Education and Science. It is the practice of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science to make over the grant-in-aid to the council without direction as to how it should be spent. It is thus for the AFRC to decide its scientific priorities and to take appropriate action following such decisions. I understand that the council has no fresh evidence to justify reconsidering its decision to close the Weed Research Organisation and to transfer much of its work to Long Ashton Research Station. That decision was reached after careful consideration of all relevant factors.

The transfer will benefit the work on weed science by its closer association with other scientific disciplines at Long Ashton which have not been represented at the Weed Research Organisation. The consolidation should also help the integration of crop protection practices with crop husbandry generally, aimed at creating efficient and environmentally acceptable production systems for farmers. As now, environmental diversity will be achieved by conducting field experiments on farms in various parts of the country. Furthermore, additional land in a predominantly cereals growing area and within a reasonable working distance of Long Aston will be sought in due course for field experimentation on arable crops.

The AFRC intends that this work, which will account for about 70 per cent. of the current WRO programme, will retain its identity within the wider programme at Long Ashton and that there will continue to be a national point of contact on weed control matters for the advisory services, farmers and the agrochemical industry.