Mixed reaction as Brown pledges £6.3bn to science

The increase in the UK’s public science spending from £5 billion to £6.3 billion, as announced by the Chancellor last month in his budget, has been met with cautious optimism by the scientific community.

Funded by the Government the Diamond Synchrotron has been a big boost for UK science. Will the latest budgetry increases lead to more advances?

The increase - which will be fully met in 2010 by an annual increase of 2.7% - represents the combined science spend of the DTI and the Department for Education and Skills. Hailed as a long-term commitment to science, the increase has come just a month after the DTI reduced the budget of the Research Councils by £68 million. Speaking on behalf of the Research Councils, Professor Ian Diamond said of the budgetary increase: “It is wonderful news that the Chancellor has given such a positive message of support for the UK research base. UK research and researchers are world class, and the Research Councils are committed to maintaining this excellence and maximising the impact that research has on the economic development and quality of life of the people of the UK and beyond.” However, despite the apparent commitment to science, some have seen the move as disappointing. Paul Noon, general secretary of Prospect, the union for scientists and engineers, said: “This increase is nowhere near as good as it sounds, as science costs rise faster than inflation and it is unclear how much of this money will actually be spent on science. The Chancellor’s tight grip on public spending means the increase will almost certainly be more than offset by cuts in departmental science budgets later this year.” The fear that any real-term gains in the science budget will be lost is one that many in the research community share. Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, said: “The Royal Society will be closely monitoring the flow of money to ensure that increases in investment result in more research being done and do not disappear amidst changing accounting practices.” In order to meet the increase, which would represent 2.5% of GDP by 2010, Gordon Brown has said that industry will have to play its part. To encourage the increased investment in innovation, the budget contained initiatives that he hopes will act as incentive to increase the amount of money put into research by the private sector. Among these was an announcement to put £100 million into the technology programme – designed to support innovation in the industrial sector.