Government recognises importance of science in CSR announcement

Colleagues,

As you know, Chancellor George Osborne yesterday confirmed the very good news that the science vote will be relatively protected – with a “cash freeze” over the four years from 2011-15 for the total allocation to the Research Councils (around £2.7 billion each year). Taking inflation into account this outcome equates to a “real cut” of around 8-9%.

The Prime Minister, Chancellor and our own Ministers made a point of stressing the importance for the UK’s future of a strong and vibrant research base. This is the argument that we, and the other Councils, made very strongly in our submissions over the past months to the government, and it’s pleasing that government responded so positively to the coordinated action from the Councils, research community, business leaders and supporters such as the Science Is Vital campaign. Real thanks are due to our Ministers Vince Cable and David Willetts, as well as to Adrian Smith and his team at BIS, for their work in convincing government of the benefits of investing in science and research.

However, this result represents real challenges for the research base, especially coming on top of the reductions in university funding. A “real” reduction of around 8-9% will force a rethink by all Councils of our forward plans, and a complicating factor is that the situation in respect to capital funding is unclear. The Chancellor on Sunday reconfirmed the Diamond Phase III capital due over the next four years, which is great news, but we won’t have clarity about ISIS, Hartree or other capital projects or operational capital for some time.

The next stage will be for BIS to negotiate with all Councils to set specific allocations, including capital. We do not know whether the “flat cash” outcome will apply to our budget. We do know that “reverting to the status quo” is not an option and it continues to be very important for STFC to demonstrate prioritisation of its science, and clearly articulate how we will achieve efficiencies and reform our operations to deliver maximum value for the UK.

The Government has already announced it will protect the MRC budget in “real terms”, and this is very good news for the research supported by our sister Council. Science Minister David Willetts told reporters in London yesterday he did not expect this would be “disruptive” for the other Councils, and he also indicated there were no plans to merge councils or to withdraw from any of our international subscriptions.

However, we obviously cannot be certain of the impact on our programme, facilities or staff until we have a final budget. Our Council will continue to play an important role in overseeing and guiding our final submissions and decisions, and of course Science Board, PPAN and PALs will have direct input on any science prioritisation issues.

We expect the next request for information from BIS in the next week, with the current intention of announcing a Delivery Plan before Christmas. We also need information from BIS about the impact of “efficiency savings” announced by the Government totalling £327 million. Mr Willetts said this money would be linked to changes to the FEC regime as proposed by a recent report by Professor Bill Wakeham (not the report he authored into physics). In addition, we have to receive an allocation from BIS for our “administration” budget, which will then be reduced by one-third over the next four years.

So – a lot of information announced yesterday, and we are thankful for the relatively small reduction in the science budget. This really is good news, and a strong endorsement by Government of their faith in us and the other Councils to deliver world leading science, innovation and skills, and to play a significant role in contributing to the future economic health of the UK through scientific and technological advances.

But the CSR outcome isn’t pain free. We have a Council meeting next week, and the Council CSR sub-group and Executive held a telecon today. We’ll provide you with more information as it comes to hand. I’d like to personally thank you all for the work you’ve done so far in helping us make the case. The job’s not finished.

Keith Mason
Chief Executive Officer
21 October 2010