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Presentation given by John Womersley, Chief Executive of STFC, to the IOP on 12th February 2013
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Professor John WomersleyChief Executive, Science & Technology Facilities Council
February 2013
Over the past year
• New management in place at STFC• Major Projects delivered
– E-infrastructure, Catapult, ELI,…• Scientific Successes
– Higgs!– KMOS, first light with DES, Diamond 10th anniversary…
• Continued momentum– ESA at Harwell, SKA, Hartree Centre
STFC Impact Report2012
Triennial ReviewDavid Willetts announced the launch of the Triennial Review of the Research Councils in a Written Ministerial Statement on 9 January
The review is a Cabinet Office initiative and will be conducted in two stages:• Stage 1 will assess the core functions of the Research Councils, the need
for these functions to continue and the structural options for continued delivery of these functions.
• If the conclusions of Stage 1 are that the Research Councils should continue as NDPBs, Stage 2 will examine corporate governance.
• BIS aims to complete Stage 1 of the review within six months and anticipates producing a report and conclusions of the whole review by early September
This is not a review of the policy of funding basic research, to which the Government remains committed
Triennial Review - continued
Overall Programme/Project Management
• Ceri Smith, Richard Ney, Helen Huxtable
Core Review Team
• Paula Croft – EPSRC and RCUK• Bill Wells - Economic Analysis• Vivien Brighton - MRC• Iain Mansfield – STFC• Sarah Tyrell – AHRC and ESRC• Isobel Pastor – NERC
Triennial Review - continued
• Cabinet Office put a lot of store in the views of stakeholders
• Meetings with key stakeholders set up over February, including the Chairs and CEOs of the Research Councils; Government; businesses; UK Charities and National Academies; and Select Committees. The panel is seeking meetings with other key stakeholders from Universities, TSB and HEFCE, and the International Community
Triennial Review - continued
• Review team are hosting roundtable discussions on 6 and 8 March and attending a number of external group stakeholder discussions.
• 'Call for Evidence' is on the BIS website https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/triennial-review-of-the-research-councils-call-for-evidence
Triennial Review – why should you care?
• Need to recommend some change (“a pound of flesh”)– Previous reviews of this type led to creation of RCUK and SSC
• Review is asking fundamental questions about how research is funded in the UK– How many research councils?– How should they be governed?
This will affect you all!
Spending review
• There will not be a full CSR until after the election• The 2013 Budget will announce a Spending Review to set
budget levels for 2015/16
• It is expected that the overall envelope for financial year 15/16 will be announced, at the level of the settlement for individual departments. The total BIS budget (including the Science and Research budget) will likely be announced, but no more detail within that.
• There will then be a process following the Budget to decide spend for 15/16 within departmental allocations. (this includes the Science and Research budget within the BIS allocation)
• The starting point for the 15/16 budgets for departments is that they will continue along their present trajectory (for capital, resource and admin). This means further cuts to the overall BIS budget, and does not prejudge what will happen to the Science and Research budget within that, although the starting point would presumably be continued flat cash.
News on spending review - continued
• Demonstrating efficiency and linkage to economic growth will continue to be essential.
• There is unlikely to be significant additional capital/resource spend announced in the spring Budget.
News on spending review - continued
Government context• Deterioration in public finances over
past year• National debt £1.1 trillion predicted to
rise to £1.4 trillion by 2014• Bank of England cut growth forecast• ONS data shows that public borrowing
has exceeded official estimates for every month this financial year
• Budget deficit up on last year
Total Research Council funding2011 - 2015
Baseline 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-150
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
2010 Comprehensive Spending Review
we are
here
Spending Review to set budget for 2015/16
Implications of CSR10
• Flat cash was relatively good result • But inflation is well above 2% target, power costs,
unexpected additional charges (CRC tax, OA publishing)…• Two years in
– 4.4% loss of purchasing power to end of 2012/13• Another two years
– Additional 5% or £26 million
Impact of Flat Cash
• BIS sponsor team suggested we model 2 more years flat cash• The results are not pretty
2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-170
10
20
30
40
50
60
International Subs UK FacilitiesCore Programme Administration
£m
Loss of purchasing power
SummaryTriennial Review• Take it seriously – it’s asking fundamental questions and is likely
to propose changeshttps://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/triennial-review-of-the-research-councils-call-for-evidence
Spending Review for 2015/16• Another year of flat cash will be very tough; reduced funding
even worse• We’ve been working hard to be ready – but it won’t be easy
Most important thing we should all be doing is selling the excellence and importance of our science