Protect science budget, committee urges
18 Mar 2015
The UK Science and Technology Committee has asked George Osborne ’not to falter’ on science funding ahead of this afternoon’s Budget.
In the Chancellor’s 2014 Autumn Statement, £5.9 billion was allocated for science research facilities in the UK.
As part of that announcement, individual research projects and laboratories within the UK were promised up to £3 billion worth of funding support.
Of that £3 billion, £235 million will be invested in the Sir Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials which will be located at the University of Manchester and linked to ’satellite centres’ at Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London.
However, the Science and Technology Committee wants to ensure the Chancellor fulfils the potential of the Autumn Statement by guaranteeing that “all of the capital investment announced will have long term sustainable funding streams necessary to deliver the outputs that deliver jobs and wealth creation more widely”.
The Committee has also asked government ’not to overdo’ its inward looking reviews of public spending on science.
Chairman of the Committee Andrew Miller said: “It is right and proper that government ensures it is getting value for money.
“I am worried, however, that, if the research councils are constantly under review, it will distract the organisations from delivering what they are there for and that ultimately there will be change, simply for change’s sake.”
The Chancellor will deliver the Budget to parliament at 12.30 GMT today.
