The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) – who run the majority of the measurement programmes for the National Measurement Office (NMO) – and Prospect, the union representing specialists at NPL have reacted with dismay.

Prospect Deputy General Secretary Mike Clancy said: “The cut of £6m from NMO’s budget, being imposed by Lord Mandelson’s department, will have an estimated economic impact on the UK of £410m just at a time when we are trying to rebuild the economy.”

In a letter to the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Prospect have outlined the immediate danger that the cuts would have on British industry, and pointed out that research projects vital to economic growth would have to be stopped. Prospect believe programmes including those working with SMEs and NPL environmental projects could be affected.

Clancy said the NMO’s measurement programmes “are vital to British industry as they provide the standards relied upon by every section of the economy, from healthcare to advanced manufacturing and the introduction of a low-carbon economy.”

He said: “These cuts will go to the heart of British industry. The government must realise that cutting back on standards and research at NPL is not the way to grow an innovative and prosperous future for the UK economy.”  He urged the government to stop the cuts, calling them ill-conceived and counter-productive.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable MP – who has met with Prospect - called the cuts “foolish panic, cuts which will undermine Britain’s long-term science capability at NPL” and cause between 40 and 50 highly skilled jobs losses.