Kew Gardens’ world-class science research and long-term future are at risk due to government cuts, a group of MPs reported this week.
The Commons science and technology committee branded the government’s financial management of Kew Gardens a ‘recipe for failure’.
Kew faces a £5.5 million funding gap with more than 100 jobs slashed already, including 47 science roles.
The UNESCO heritage site attracts around two million visitors a year with former trustee Sir David Attenborough a prominent critic of the government’s cuts.
Committee chair Andrew Miller MP said: “The way the government provides funds to the Royal Botanic Gardens leaves them with little ability to plan for the future and is undermining Kew’s capability to produce world-beating plant science.
“The government must work out a stable way of funding the Gardens that provides greater long-term certainty for Kew’s important work.”
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Government one-off payments of £1.5 million and £2.3 million do not secure funding at Kew beyond the end of April 2016.
As well as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) budget cuts, Kew’s main charitable partner has reduced its grant and staff costs have risen.
Professor Kathy Willis, Kew’s director of science, launched Kew’s five-year science strategy last month.
Royal Botanic Garden scientists aim to produce a coffee bean that will survive in high temperatures, with fears global warming could wipe out world supplies by 2080.
A Royal Botanic Gardens spokesman highlighted the ‘enormous challenges facing humanity’ their research was attempting to meet.
He said: “We agree with the committee that for this world-class science to thrive Kew needs long-term investment backed by the government.
Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, told South West Londoner: “It’s no good the government popping up in response to protest and issuing random cheques, much as they are appreciated.
“It’s no good the government popping up in response to protest and issuing random cheques, much as they are appreciated.”
“Kew needs a long-term, stable funding formula – we need to remember that Kew is a World Heritage Site and a national treasure.
“It has seven million plant specimens, two million visitors a year and it is at the very cutting edge of research into some of the biggest threats we face today, including food security and climate change.
“It is hard to square that work with the steepness and depth of the proposed cuts.”
The report also recommended Kew should have greater autonomy over its ‘unrestricted funding’ budget, currently around half of the total.
Responding to the report, a Defra statement read: “We are proud of the vital work carried out by Kew – that is why we have given it on average more money per year from 2010 than in the preceding three years, with more money next year provided as ‘unrestricted’ funding.
“We are grateful for the committee’s interest in RBG Kew and we will respond to the report shortly.”
