UK bites science

After years of increases exceeding inflation and promises to protect science funding by ring fencing—shielding science funds from the rest of the government’s budget—the UK government will cut 2007 science funding by £68 million ($131 million), or 1%. “The budget cut is actually a smallish blip,” says Royal Society president Martin Rees. “But symbolically it concerns many people because it weakens the credibility of future assurances of ‘ring fencing”.”

“The fact that the ring fence has been disregarded calls into question any future promises the government might make because ministers have shown that they will happily break their promises,” says Peter Cotgreave, director of the UK Campaign for Science and Engineering.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which funds the lion’s share of physical sciences research in the UK, had its 2007–08 budget cut by nearly 3%. At press time the EPSRC was still considering what programs and grants to delay or cut.

The science cuts are the consequence of recent overspending by the Department of Trade and Industry, which funds most UK civilian science. A restructuring of the nuclear industry and the collapse of the Rover car company both siphoned DTI money. “It seems that people who have not managed their budgets well are being rewarded,” says Cotgreave, “while those [in science] who have are being punished.”