At yesterday's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, I pressed Prof Michele Dougherty STFC Executive Chair to explain how the £162m financial shortfall threatening our physics, astronomy, and nuclear research base had come about and why early career researchers were paying for it.
Rows of people wearing orange lanyards in a House of Commons committee hearing. At the front is Catherine sporting her "I'm about to perform an appendectomy" mask and looking particularly snazzy.
Here is my run-down of today's Science, Information & Technology Committee hearing (House of Commons) where @jonbutterworth.bsky.social @si-wills.bsky.social & I argued for no funding cuts, & Prof. Michele Doughtery explained why they were needed. The public gallery again packed with physicists 🔭👩🔬⚛️
A LOT going on in the Commons select committee hearing on STFC budget pressures
Michele Dougherty said that, despite having previously been on STFC's council, she didn't know until starting as exec chair in Jan 2025 that there was a £100-150m shortfall
She said it was "not what I signed up to" 😶
People sat in rows a committee hearing - all smartly dressed
Here is my run-down of today's Science and Technology Committee hearing (House of Lords) where "considerable disquiet in the science community" was raised with Sir Patrick Vallance. Really great to see the public gallery packed with physicists!
Good news: "I'm very determined that UKRI must find a way to look after PPAN"
But: "all funding gets tensioned against something so it either gets tensioned against the rest of physics which might be one way to do it or you tension against EPSRC...something they're looking at that at the moment"
Did you ask about why there don't appear to be any female scientists at this Institute?
Screen shot from the UKRI Funding Finder. Title: Fundamental AI Research Lab. Timeline Open 2nd March, intention to submit date 16 March, Closing Date 31 March 2026.
Can anyone think of an example of government spend of this magnitude and speed (excluding covid)??
4 weeks from call announcement to submission (no advance warning) and within that only 2 weeks to flag your intention to submit.
£40M total - individual awards £9.4M
www.ukri.org/opportunity/...
UKRI funding changes are raising serious concern across the UK science community. More than 50 university physics leaders including all 23 Russell Group universities with physics facilities have warned that proposed cuts risk undermining innovation-led economic growth.
🔗 www.ft.com/content/a235...
📢 @astroroyalscot.bsky.social, Prof. Jon Butterworth, & our rep for Early-Career Researchers, Simon Williams @si-wills.bsky.social will meet the SITC Committee next week to talk about the STFC funding!
Let's all attend the hearing in person and online!🙎💻
committees.parliament.uk/event/26683/...
STFC CEO responds to @jonbutterworth.bsky.social
"it is important for all of our ... programmes ... to contribute to us making savings across our entire portfolio"
No mention that *all* is disproportionately falling on the particle-astro-nuclear programme 🤷♀️😡
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Astronomy postdoc jobs on new STFC grants slump by 75 per cent.
Chair of research council grants panel warns of “unprecedented funding crisis” for UK astronomy.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Is this a change of position from UKRI’s CEO?
While still compartmentalising the problem to STFC, he has now said that the majority of funding cuts will be “borne by UKRI internally,” and not STFC devolved budget.
🧪🔭
(www.ukri.org/news/ukri-ce...)
Today the astro-community discussed the devastating proposed 30% cuts to our research funding, cuts that will be offsetting (some of the) rising costs at UK facilities that we don't use. Hard not to feel victimised when those same facilities make a fanfare announcement about an expensive facelift. 🔭
Yeah - sorry you found it before I had chance to reply. The plan to build an adventure playground, while we're being cut to the bone, is a 'nice' touch
@jonbutterworth.bsky.social have you seen that big expansion plans for Harwell were announced today?
Huge cuts to PPAN postdocs, but we can afford an adventure playground.
The PPAN budget gets a 30% cut, and Harwell gets an expansion plan.
STFC's science board was told of "long-term cut" to grants for physics and astronomy researchers, former member claims.
STFC, which funds both major facilities and grants, plans cuts of £162m by 29-20, as @resprofnews.bsky.social has revealed.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Thanks to @iansample.bsky.social at the Guardian for covering the devastating funding cuts that are being proposed for UK (astro)physics, and the dire impact these would have on young researchers. Will UKRI/STFC reconsider? Will the UKGov step in?🤞👩🔬🧪⚛️🔭
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
I, along with many other UKRI, STFC and RS fellows are signing this open letter on the STFC cuts. The proposed reductions will devastate UK astronomy and the researchers who make it possible. Please read, share, and, if a fellow, sign.
advancedfellows-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html
#astro
🎙️Our ECR open letter now has a sibling: an open letter from advanced fellows!👥📣
ECRs: ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html
Adv. Fellows: advancedfellows-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html
Together, we hope UKRI and the government will hear the many voices across the PPAN community. 🔭🧪📡⚗️
The STFC Funding Crisis – Guest Post by George Efstathiou
The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele Dougherty. I include the letter here for…
Open letter from Early Career Researchers to the UKRI investment plan.
We can't let young people pay the price of "outcome-driven strategies". #stfc #ukri
ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io
If you are a postdoc or PhD, read and sign! 🧬🔭🔬⚗️🧪📡🛰️
‘Difficult’ two years ahead for physics, warns STFC boss.
Michele Dougherty confirms withdrawal from LHC upgrade and indicates scant money for new projects.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Helpful update into UKRI and research council funding changes from Zoe Kleinman @zsk.bsky.social
But please more focus on 2 things...
1) Immediate effects (eg funding decisions expected in March)
2) Likely disproportionate effects on early career scientists
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
An excellent open-letter enumerating the dangers to early career researchers and then wider society of proposed changes to UK science funding
ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io
Early-career researchers may like to add their signatures
🧪⚛️🔭 #AcademicSky #UKpol
On the impact on jobs and projects of STFC cost-savings, Chapman said:
"We have not made decisions about exactly what we’re going to do about it, so we are beginning to ask grantholders: if [STFC] did reduce grants in the future, what implications would that have for the science that is achievable"
I've updated my post on the funding crisis heading for British astronomy: docs.google.com/document/d/1.... UKRI made clear that astro and particle physics are being subject to unique cuts due to rising costs elsewhere. This looks like a deliberate decision not to fund fundamental physics. 🔭 🧪
This letter more or less confirms that once again the need to fund the ‘fixed’ costs of STFC - essentially the labs - those of us who work in areas funded by the council can go swivel. So stupid and shortsighted.
