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Government
ignored warnings of ‘severely constrained’ physics budget
16-Jan-08, Press Release.
The Science and
Technology Facilities Council (STFC) warned the Government
about the likely impact of a ‘flat cash’ budget allocation
five months prior to the science budget announcement,
documents released under the Freedom of Information Act
show.
The Government had been
warned by the STFC as early as July 2007 that a flat cash
allocation would mean science facilities would operate ‘at
significantly reduced level’ and the provision of grants
would be ‘severely constrained’. Professor Keith Mason,
Chief Executive of the STFC, later described the
Government’s settlement as ‘an essentially flat cash
allocation’.
Commenting, Shadow
Science and Innovation Minister Adam Afriyie said:
“Government Ministers are
stoking resentment by boasting about levels of science
spending when, in reality, they know that deep cuts to
physics and astronomy budgets are resulting in redundancies
and seriously weakening our research base.
“What’s most alarming is
that the Government were warned about the effect of the cuts
in July last year but did nothing about it when allocating
the science budget
“The current crisis is a
result of incompetence or a deliberate decision to cut the
STFC budget, yet Ministers are refusing to accept
responsibility in their desperate attempt to blame the STFC–
they should have the courage to be accountable for their
decisions or their incompetence.”
Notes:
Freedom of Information documents available at:
http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/users/peachk/STFoIC/response-1.htm
ENDS
Contact Details:
Telephone: 020 7219 8023
Email:
afriyiea@parliament.uk
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