Science minister and UKRI chief govt again prime minister’s assertion denying influence from cost-saving measures
Patrick Vallance and Ian Chapman have mentioned value financial savings being made on the Science and Technology Facilities Council pose no danger to authorities ambitions on synthetic intelligence and quantum.
The science minister (pictured center) and UK Research and Innovation chief govt (pictured proper) have been addressing issues raised by Chi Onwurah (pictured left), chair of the House of Commons science, innovation and know-how committee.
Onwurah cited feedback made by the prime minister Keir Starmer in March, when he mentioned reductions in STFC funding “wouldn’t cut across what we want to do with either quantum or AI”. She requested Vallance and Chapman whether or not Starmer’s assertion “accurately represents an assessment made by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and/or UKRI”.
STFC is figuring out the way it will discover value financial savings of £162 million by 2029-30, which have sparked fears over injury to UK management in AI and quantum, notably via lowered funding for early profession researchers. The authorities is betting on each fields as sources of financial progress, however researchers have warned the proposed cuts at STFC would damage the UK’s growth ambitions.
In a letter published on 21 April, Vallance and Chapman mentioned “UKRI will invest £1.6 billion and £1bn on targeted research and innovation programmes directed at the AI and quantum sectors respectively” over the spending overview interval.
“These vital and significant investments were not tensioned against STFC’s particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics portfolio, which is largely funded from the curiosity-driven research funding stream,” they added.
Vallance and Chapman mentioned AI and quantum are “important and exciting areas for physics, including particle physics at the cutting edge of research and innovation, and both areas will enable fundamental discovery research”.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, the actions required to bring STFC’s finances to a more sustainable position are critical to ensuring UKRI can continue to deliver on its mission over the long term,” they continued, including that “we do not see a risk to delivering on HM government’s priorities in AI and quantum”.
‘Unanswered questions’
In an announcement published alongside the letter, Onwurah mentioned that whereas she was happy with the response, “several questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding comments made to me by the prime minister at [the] Liaison Committee that these cuts were proposed because they wouldn’t impact the government’s ambitions on quantum or AI”.
“We will therefore be closely monitoring the ongoing consultation and scrutinising the decision-making process to ensure it is fair and transparent and that the UK’s reputation as a global science leader—and our future researchers—are properly protected,” she mentioned.