Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the budget of the Science and Technology Facilities Council on research facilities and programmes.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is currently working with the sector to model different spending scenarios for its portfolio in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics.

No final decisions have been made. The impacts of different scenarios and sector feedback will be considered when taking final decisions. We are clear that curiosity driven research must be protected.

The UK remains committed to physics and international physics collaboration, including as the second-largest contributor at CERN.