UK Science Labs Must Earn Money or Face Closure

Some of the United Kingdom's most important science labs are facing a tough choice: find ways to earn their own money, or close their doors. The UK government is cutting about £42 million — around $56 million — per year from the budgets of labs run by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, or STFC. These labs include the Diamond Light Source, a powerful X-ray facility, and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, both located in Harwell, England. Scientists who use these labs are worried about what the cuts could mean for their research.

The STFC funds some of Britain's biggest science tools. One is Diamond Light Source, which shoots very bright beams of X-rays at materials so scientists can study their tiny structures. Another is ISIS, which fires beams of particles called neutrons to help researchers study everything from medicines to airplane parts. There is also the Central Laser Facility, which uses powerful lasers for science experiments. All three of these sites in Harwell will see their funding drop by 15%, or £28 million per year, by the year 2030.

Other STFC sites will also lose money. Labs like Daresbury Laboratory near Warrington, which works on nuclear physics and supercomputing, and RAL Space, the national space lab, will see funding fall by 8%, or £14 million per year. The hardest hit will be the Boulby Underground Laboratory. This lab sits 1.1 kilometres underground in a salt mine near Whitby, where scientists study dark matter and quantum science. Its funding will be cut by 40% over the same period.

Why are these cuts happening when the government promised more money for science? The UK government did promise that the budget for its main science funder, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), would grow from £8.8 billion to £10 billion by 2030. But most of that new money is going toward government priorities like artificial intelligence, which is set to receive more than £1.6 billion over four years. Basic research led by individual scientists will stay mostly flat, leaving less room in the STFC's budget to run its labs.

To help labs stay open while they adjust, the government gave the STFC a one-time boost of £135 million spread over three years. But that money is meant to buy time, not solve the problem forever. Labs are expected to cut some services, like the support staff that help visiting scientists use equipment. Ian Chapman, the chief executive of UKRI, confirmed that the number of hours ISIS runs its beams will drop from 80% to 66%. He also said job cuts across the STFC are likely, possibly in the hundreds, even though staff numbers have grown to around 3,000 people since 2021.

At the same time, labs are being asked to bring in money from outside sources, mainly from businesses. Many labs already charge companies to use their equipment for private research projects. For example, ISIS has an instrument called ChipIr, which creates high-energy neutrons that act like particles found in space. The aviation industry uses it to test how those particles affect materials and electronics. Labs can also earn money by selling technology they invent or by renting out their special environments to paying users.

Scientists are looking to labs in Europe for ideas on how to earn more money. Chapman said STFC staff are not very experienced at bringing in outside money, but they are open to trying. Right now, the STFC earns about £29 million a year from selling services, which is about 3.5% of its total budget. The Institut Laue-Langevin in France earns about 5% of its budget from industry, while the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland earns about 7%. UK labs will need to work hard to match those numbers if they want to survive the funding cuts.