A UNION has expressed its concern over proposed funding cuts at a science and technology facility in Daresbury.
It comes following studies that employees on the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have been instructed in a presentation by administration that the council is to face a considerable lower to its price range.
There shall be a 30 per cent lower in funding for its particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear programmes.
STFC supplies exterior grants for researchers at universities and helps large-scale science services, alongside a community of nationwide laboratories.
The council has websites in Daresbury, Swindon, Harwell, and Edinburgh, in addition to a lab in North Yorkshire and an observatory in Hampshire.
Trade union Prospect, which represents 160,000 members within the public and non-public sectors, has expressed its concern over the cuts.
Mike Clancy, Prospect basic secretary, mentioned: “At a time when the UK Government has put research and development at the heart of its industrial strategy, cuts of this kind are counterproductive, damaging, and risk our future as a world leader in science.
“Large cuts to particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear seem particularly short-sighted given the importance of these areas to our national priorities such as defence and energy.
“The UK research ecosystem has been systematically underfunded for decades.
“If we truly want to be a world leader in any kind of science, we need to be prepared to make substantial, long-term investments, not a boom-and-bust cycle where short-term pressures derail important research capabilities.
“Elements of the research and development infrastructure are collapsing, and the workforce is starting to look elsewhere for their future.
“If we do not do something soon, we will permanently and irreplaceably lose vital skills and capacity.”
When requested for an announcement, a STFC spokesman mentioned: “Following the spending review settlement, UKRI, including STFC, is changing the way some of its investment is directed to align with national priorities and meet key opportunities to contribute to economic growth across the UK.
“To meet these ambitions, a period of transition is underway across all aspects of the work of STFC.
“In response to our indicative allocation, we must make substantial savings across our portfolio to safeguard both long-term discovery science, our major user facilities, and our applied research and innovation.
“Put simply: we will need to do fewer things, but funded at a sustainable level.
“STFC will continue to fund research through multiple routes, and we remain committed to investing in international projects and research and innovation capabilities in line with our mission.”