The division for Company, Innovation and Abilities (BIS), responsible for funding research Councils and Universities in the Uk, is struggling to deal with big planned budget cuts, and leaked documents reveal something about the devastating possibilities currently being mentioned, even whilst the Government says good factors about the relevance of science for the future, and says the economic system is recovering.
Offered that as not too long ago as final Tuesday George Osborne was celebrating great British science with Peter Higgs at the Science Museum, absolutely this have to be the scene in Whitehall correct now?
On the other hand, whilst science has been protected from big cuts so far, it has been struggling the erosion of inflation year-on-12 months as it struggles inside a “flat funds” price range. Assuming inflation at about 2.5%, the accumulated cuts are previously heading for about 13% in real terms considering that 2010, and this was following massive cuts in some regions by Labour just prior to that. And which is to say absolutely nothing about the complete pupil charge circumstance. Possibly the treasury isn’t going to realise this? Perhaps the scene is far more like this one:
Who is aware of? Perhaps this is all leaking, posturing and expectation management so far. Possibly we need to get utilised to minimal expectations, whatever the rhetoric. But it is worrying and depressing that we are still arguing about cuts rather than what dimension of enhanced investment would be prudent. What is the vision for the long term? Is there 1?
Or maybe which is a stupid question.
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Looming cuts to science and students | Jon Butterworth | Life & Physics
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