Scientists call for Government funding

#science #sciientists #universities #briancox #stephenhawking #scienceisvital #ukmfg High-profile scientists including Brian Cox (pictured) and Stephen Hawking have called for the Government to increase its support for scientific research when it publishes its next Spending Review (in June).

Core spending on science was ‘ring-fenced’ during the 2010 Spending Review, but cash for capital projects was subsequently trimmed, and individual Government departments have seen cuts to their budgets for science, according to official figures.

Now, the Science is Vital campaign is calling for Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to increase spending on science from 0.6% of the UK’s gross domestic product to 0.8% — the average for the G8 group of industrialised nations. That would take science spending from about £9 billion a year to about £12 billion.

More information can be found on the Science is VItal Web site (scienceisvital.org.uk).