Physics Research

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 11:27 am on 23 March 2010.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Andrew Smith Andrew Smith Labour, Oxford East 11:27, 23 March 2010

Yes, indeed. The difficulty of forecasting the economic impact of blue-skies research is something that I will come to later.

I share the concerns voiced by the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon about the pressures facing the Science and Technology Facilities Council in general and physics funding in particular. As I have said, those pressures are tragic, given that they come after an unprecedented investment in science in recent years. I certainly reinforce the questions that the hon. Gentleman asked about the future of the STFC grants and I urge the Government to look very carefully at that area of funding again.

There is an important question to be asked about who should carry currency risk; there is indeed a case for its being a responsibility of the Treasury. However, if that is the case, there must be an understanding and an agreement of the long-term real international currency-weighted value of the commitment that is being made to these international projects.

As I said, Mr. O'Brien, UK science was starved of investment for many years before 1997 and a real difference has been made by the increases since.