The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has called on science minister Patrick Vallance to step in and prevent the "catastrophic damage to astronomy and space science" that would be caused by devastating proposed budget cuts.
In the letter, signed by RAS President Professor Mike Lockwood, President-elect Professor Jim Wild and Ruth Kelly, chair of the RAS Early Career Network, the Society urged Lord Vallance to investigate "as a matter of urgency" the cuts outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) last month.
The RAS is "deeply concerned" by the announcement, citing the "human cost" to the plans in the form of "a curtailment of opportunities for students to pursue PhD programmes, and for graduates from those to access postdoctoral positions".
There would also be ramifications for UK economic growth, plus significant damage to the UK's reputation on the global stage – going from an international success story in astronomy and space science to "a country that chose to defund one of its most successful areas of research".
Here is the letter in full:
The Lord Vallance of Balham KCB
Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear
Department of Science, Innovation and Technology
22-26 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG
Dear Lord Vallance,
Cuts to funding for astronomy and space science
I am writing to you as the president of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), to urge you to take action to reverse the cuts to funding for astronomy and space science proposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
As you know, the RAS represents more than 4,000 members (Fellows), three quarters of whom are based in the UK, and around half are involved in professional astronomy, space science and geophysics in some capacity. Part of our remit is to be an independent voice for the research community and to speak up on their behalf.
We are deeply concerned by the proposed STFC cuts, communicated to us by the research council executive chair, and with confirmation from the CEO of UKRI that this is unique to astronomy, space science (and particle and nuclear physics).
Unlike any other disciplines, these research areas are being targeted as a result of a structural issue with the research councils, where international subscriptions, and rising costs for all facilities, regardless of their user base, are in tension with grants for curiosity-driven research.
Cutting a budget for specific sciences by 30%, and asking project groups in those areas to plan for cuts of up to 60%, is without any recent precedent. It directly contradicts the positive support for science put out by the Government and its predecessors for at least the last quarter of a century. As the STFC Executive Chair noted, these proposals follow a 15% cut in the number of grants, and where remaining recipients are once again dealing with a six-month delay in their delivery, placing enormous pressures on universities and the staff they employ.
Astronomy and space science in the UK are as you know an international success story. We are ranked fourth in the world for citations after the United States, China and Germany, and remain a destination and collaborator of choice for researchers from around the globe. If the proposed cuts are implemented, we have no doubt that this status will come to an end – the UK will be seen as a country that chose to defund one of its most successful areas of research.
This also carries a human cost, with ramifications for UK economic growth. The cuts will result in a curtailment of opportunities for students to pursue PhD programmes, and for graduates from those to access postdoctoral positions.Those early career researchers are likely to seek opportunities outside the UK, or to leave science altogether.
Astronomy and space science are recognised as STEM attractors – inspiring young people in particular to pursue careers in science as a whole. Even the announcement of such deep cuts will damage that – those considering careers in science will want working lives with the prospect of future employment and may reasonably change decisions on what they should study as a result.
We have faced a crisis of this nature before, in 2008 after STFC was created, when the allocation was insufficient to cover both facilities and resource grants. In response the then science minister, Lord Drayson, intervened to organise the partition of funding to protect grants from excessive movements in exchange rates, and from facilities costs.
Like other scientific societies, the RAS welcomed the commitment of the Government to invest in science across the board, and the consistent statements that curiosity-driven research is a key part of the portfolio of research.
We therefore ask that you investigate and act on this as a matter of urgency, and step in to prevent what will be catastrophic damage to astronomy and space science. A long term solution would be to change the structure of STFC to end the tension in place since its creation between grants, facilities and international subscriptions that has proved detrimental to our science since the research council was created.
We would of course be delighted to meet you to discuss our concerns in more detail. Please contact Prof. Robert Massey, the RAS Deputy Executive Director, via rmassey@ras.ac.uk if you would like to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Mike Lockwood
President, Royal Astronomical Society
Professor Jim Wild
President-elect, Royal Astronomical Society
Ruth Kelly
Chair, Royal Astronomical Society Early Career Network
ENDS
Media contacts
Sam Tonkin
Royal Astronomical Society
Mob: +44 (0)7802 877 700
Dr Robert Massey
Royal Astronomical Society
Mob: +44 (0)7802 877 699
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.
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