We want the Government to ensure sufficient funding beyond 31 March 2028 for the Science & Technology Facilities Council through the UKRI so that it no longer requires funding cuts which imperil key scientific research projects & establishments, such as Jodrell Bank Observatory & e-MERLIN project.

Ending scientific operations through the withdrawal of funding would affect thousands of scientists, risk many jobs, and, we believe, weaken international partnerships and remove nationally important training just as other countries are investing in areas such as radio astronomy and the Square Kilometre Array. We feel that losing this unique scientific and research capabilities, in the case of Jodrell Bank and the e-MERLIN project for the sake of just £2.8 million a year, would be a false economy.