The Royal Astronomical Society is calling on the Government to back research and development to avoid the "haemorrhaging of young talent" overseas that "underpins economic growth in the modern world".
As the Budget approaches, the Society joined leading organisations in the R&D sector in writing to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves – urging her to consider the vital role R&D will play in the Government’s long-term plans to grow the economy, increasing jobs and productivity.
It follows reports of a re-profiling of investment leading to additional costs in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's 2025/26 budget, with no extra financing provided to cover a shortfall.
The letter was sent by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), the UK's leading independent advocacy group for the R&D sector, and signed by almost 40 organisations.
Dr Alicia Greated, executive director of CaSE, said: “We recognise that finances are stretched, and the Government must make some difficult decisions around where money is spent. However, we are extremely concerned by the prospect of DSIT needing to absorb additional costs relating to Horizon Europe association, without additional money.
“To cover these costs it would require deep cuts elsewhere in the R&D sector. This would lead to the loss of jobs, expertise, and momentum right when the sector is needed to make a vital contribution to boosting economic growth and productivity.”
Professor Mike Lockwood, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "The problem with flat cash settlements is that they are cuts in real terms and mean that the funding for some, or indeed many, young researchers comes to an end because they are generally on short-term contracts.
"This means that, in order to stay in science and keep their careers going, they are forced to seek (and because they are good, they usually get) employment abroad. Once they have taken such a momentous decision and moved overseas they tend not to return.
"If we are serious about growing the economy, we simply cannot afford this haemorrhaging of young talent in research and development, which underpins economic growth in the modern world."
Recognising that public spending is under pressure, there is a risk that short-term thinking now could damage the UK’s capacity for long-term growth and ambitions around its Industrial Strategy, the signatories said.
They added that it is clear the Government has ambitious plans for the economy through its missions and Industrial Strategy, and R&D stands ready to play a big part in helping achieve those goals.
The letter text and signatories can be found below.
Letter
Dear Chancellor,
It has been positive to hear the Government recognise the value of UK Research & Development (R&D) in growing the economy and tackling many of the big challenges facing society, including in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper published this week.
What we have heard from Lord Vallance and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in recent weeks is cause for optimism about the future for UK research. It is exciting to see the direction R&D is headed in the planned spending review next year. However, it’s important that the Government doesn’t undermine the long-term ability of R&D to contribute to economic growth and improving public services through decisions made in the short term.
This month’s budget is a critical moment. We recognise that there are difficult decisions to be made with the public finances, but it is vital that our long-term ability to grow the economy isn’t undermined by the false economy of short-term cuts.
Reports of a re-profiling of investment leading to additional costs in DSIT’s 2025/26 budget, with no extra financing provided to cover a shortfall, are very concerning. It would mean deep cuts across other parts of R&D investment, with significant negative consequences for the UK’s world-leading R&D sector, putting the brakes on growth and undermining confidence. Cutting UK R&D now would be a false economy, the sector would lose stability, lose expertise, and lose momentum.
We urge you to use the budget and spending review to commit to continued investment in R&D and signal, at home and abroad, that the UK is serious about R&D’s role in contributing to sustained economic growth.
Doing so will fuel economic growth and boost productivity, enabling researchers and innovators to continue driving the high-skill sectors and cutting-edge technologies that will help shape the UK’s future.
Crucially, certainty around stable public investment will also help leverage the private investment needed to achieve the Government’s ambitions for growth.
Signatories
Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)
Association of Medical Research Charities
ARC (Advanced Research Clusters)
Babraham Institute
Biochemical Society
British Ecological Society
British Heart Foundation
Brunel University of London
Bruntwood SciTech
Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
Earlham Institute
Engineering Professors’ Council
Fraunhofer UK Research Limited
GW4
Institute of Acoustics
Institute of Physics (IOP)
John Innes Centre
LifeArc
London Mathematical Society (LMS)
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Newcastle University
Quadram Institute
Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Society of Biology
Royal Society of Chemistry
Russell Group
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
The Geological Society
The Physiological Society
The Sainsbury Laboratory
UK Bioindustry Association (BIA)
UK Dementia Research Institute
Universities UK
University of Glasgow
University of Sussex
Wellcome
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
Notes for editors
About the Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organises scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognises outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4,000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
The RAS accepts papers for its journals based on the principle of peer review, in which fellow experts on the editorial boards accept the paper as worth considering. The Society issues press releases based on a similar principle, but the organisations and scientists concerned have overall responsibility for their content.