The Government’s current financial management of Kew Gardens will be a “recipe for failure”, MPs have warned.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

A new report by Parliament’s science and technology committee said funding cuts from the Government were placing both the Royal Botanic Gardens’ world class science status and long term future at risk.

Last year, the Unesco World Heritage Site was left with a £5.5m hole in its budget and 100 jobs, including 47 in scientific areas, were cut. Last week it announced its strategy for the future.

Andrew Miller, MP, chairman of the committee, said the way Government currently funded Kew Gardens left little ability to plan for the future and was “undermining Kew’s capability to produce world-beating plant science”.

The report said the Government should create a stable way of funding Kew to help provide greater long-term certainty and too little of the site’s funding was unrestricted in comparison to other heritage and history sites in London - the Natural History Museum has 96 per cent of its budget unrestricted and subsequently has the freedom to choose how the money is spent.

At Kew, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) makes decisions on its funding, a decision which would be better taken by management, the report said.

Mr Miller added: “The Government does not needs to micro-manage Kew’s finances, it must give the Botanic Gardens the same financial freedom as similar leading scientific institutions.

“The Natural History Museum is thriving with far fewer restrictions on its budget from Government. We think it is time the Government ensured that there was a greater parity in treatment between these institutions.”

A Kew Gardens spokesman said the sites new science strategy would provide clarity to Kew’s science and allow them to fulfill their mission to document and understand plant and fungal diversity.

The spokesman added: “We agree with the committee that for this world class science to thrive, Kew needs long-term investment backed by Government. This will ensure that we are able to adequately care for our collections, which are not only a priceless national asset but also an extraordinary global resource.

“We have made great strides in improving our financial health, including rapidly growing our self generated income. We continue to work closely with Defra, and across Government, to secure the long-term investment needed for Kew.”