Baroness Brown of Silvertown
Main Page: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)Jodrell Bank Observatory: Funding
Baroness Brown of Silvertown Excerpts(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)
Understandably, there is great public support for the UNESCO world heritage centre that is Jodrell Bank, which has 150,000 visitors a year. That will not change, and nor will the engagement and education programme on those decisions.
Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Lab)
My Lords, I simply ask why the Government have stopped funding a national programme in order to invest in a global programme. Should we not be prioritising national infrastructure?
Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)
My Lords, I would not characterise this as replacing a national programme with a global one. UKRI worked closely with the astronomy community to make difficult but evidence-based decisions and choices that maintain a strong, balanced and sustainable astronomy portfolio overall. The UK has invested in the SKAO for many years as part of a range of astronomy investments. As a world-leading observatory headquartered in the UK, it helps to maintain British leadership in radio astronomy and delivers significant benefits to UK science and industry.