Science Facilities and Laboratories

Luke Myer Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Alison Hume]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—it would be catastrophic. I completely agree with her. Other hon. Members have also mentioned Jodrell Bank. These cuts are threatening some of the UK’s most important scientific assets and arguably the entire discipline of UK physics.

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for giving way. I am immensely proud to represent Boulby, which sits on the cusp of our two constituencies, and to have joined her on the incredible visit to that facility a few months ago. As she says, it is the UK’s only deep underground science laboratory, providing skilled jobs in a region that desperately needs them, yet it faces a 40% cut to its operating budget. That is not equitable with cuts across the country. Does she agree that, where STFC needs to make savings, it needs to do so in an equitable way, to ensure that we are not cutting from the regions that have already suffered the most?

[Alison Hume]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is absolutely right in that important intervention. The constituency he represents has some of the most deprived communities in the UK and would benefit most from the expansion of the Boulby lab.

Involvement in LHCb, the large hadron collider beauty experiment—one of the major experiments at CERN’s large hadron collider—is also in doubt. STFC has cancelled UK participation in the next upgrade programme because of cost pressures, despite the UK being a major contributor. It is not clear to scientists working on the project exactly why it has been deprioritised.

Cancelling projects and closing facilities will lead to the loss of talent and reduce UK competitiveness in high-precision science and international collaborations. There is also the negative impact it will have on the success of Labour’s industrial strategy. The proposed expansion at Boulby and the construction of the XLZD will generate substantial economic benefits for the north-east, North Yorkshire and the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kate Dearden]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention and for the passion we have heard in the debate, as well as her desire to fight for Boulby, her constituents and the sector as a whole. The Minister for Science has written to her today and will be happy to discuss with her the budget pressures and the difficult decisions that UKRI has taken to ensure that STFC remains financially sustainable and is able to support world-leading science in the future.

[Luke Myer]

The Minister knows that I am a supporter of her work to champion the north in the Department. Given that the team from Boulby have travelled all this way, will she take a couple of seconds out of her day to meet them after the debate and discuss the challenges they are experiencing? I know she is not the Minister directly responsible, but I am sure they would appreciate it.

[Kate Dearden]

Of course—that would be a pleasure and I would be honoured to do so. I reiterate that Boulby will remain an internationally significant research facility. It will continue to support a range of world-leading underground science and provide highly skilled employment in the region, with the potential to play an even larger role in the UK’s scientific future.

My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby highlighted in her speech the challenges with the operational budget at Boulby. UKRI has also announced funding that will sustain the UK’s continued engagement with the international XLZD dark matter experiment, which my hon. Friend mentioned, beyond the current £7.8 million infrastructure fund grant, which ends in 2027. Boulby will remain well placed to pursue future funding opportunities alongside its outstandingly significant work.

I thank colleagues again for being in Westminster Hall to support this debate. I want to offer reassurances that UKRI and STFC are engaging directly with facilities, laboratories, partners, staff and trade unions throughout the implementation of the saving plan, including in respect of any potential workforce implications. However, to be clear, no staff exits are expected this financial year, and formal processes will follow where needed.

The UK has an extraordinary scientific heritage, but our task today is not merely to celebrate past achievements but to ensure that the next generation of discoveries and the innovations they will enable happen here. The Government will achieve that goal, not just through record investment in public R&D but through responsible stewardship of our national assets, international co-operation, and taking the difficult decisions necessary to ensure we have a portfolio of research facilities that are fit for the future, because the future of British science will depend not only on the brilliance of our researchers but on the strength of the infrastructure that supports them. I once again thank all colleagues for being here to support the debate.

Question put and agreed to.