A senior parliamentarian has criticised the “extraordinary doctoring” of minutes of a research council meeting in which major cuts to UK physics funding were unveiled, stating that the “substantive” editing of records represented a “lapse in governance”.

Drawing attention to “substantive changes” to the minutes of a meeting of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC),  and which outlined the “need for major cost savings”, Chi Onwurah told the House of Commons’ Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, which she chairs, that the amendments went well beyond permissible corrections to improve accuracy.

In January, it was revealed that the STFC was seeking to reduce spending by £162 million by the end of 2029-30, with cuts likely to fall on particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) research. The council’s funding is staying flat over the five-year Spending Review period but rising costs of energy and international subscriptions will require , leaders at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have insisted.

UKRI has consistently denied that the suggestion that the cuts at STFC are connected to broader changes across the £9 billion a year research funder, which will seek to increase the share of funding spent on translational research and studies related to government-decided societal challenges.

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In a question-and-answer session with science secretary Liz Kendall on 8 July, Onwurah asked the minister if she had seen the “extraordinary doctoring of the minutes of that meeting” when the cuts were discussed.

“That’s the only way to describe it,” said Onwurah, stating the changes concerned whether cuts represented a “change in funding from curiosity-driven research to priority areas, which is at the heart of concerns that many physicists have written to us about”.

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“Have you looked at the way the minutes were changed so substantively to reflect different interpretations of the ‘shift’ in funding, as it was described, and how that reflects on the concerns this committee has already raised about the governance at the STFC?” she asked.

In response, Kendall said that “as a Labour MP, I know how important minutes of meetings are – they should be open and transparent and they shouldn’t change. But I don’t know about this particular issue.”

Urging the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to look into the matter, Onwurah said the changes represented an “extraordinary lapse in governance”.

In the committee hearing Kendall was repeatedly asked about the cuts to PPAN research and the uncertainty faced by scientists awaiting the final details of where funding will be reduced.

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Admitting that the communication of the forthcoming cuts had been “badly handled”, Kendall sought to reassure the scientific community by insisting that the “number of PhD starts in this area will remain the same and the number of postdocs in the area will remain the same”.

Asked if the UK’s physics research base was under threat, Kendall said it was not and that “UK physics can, must and will remain world-leading in these areas”.

“But, on individual decisions, let’s wait and see what the STFC does,” she added, stating that it was not the responsibility of ministers to micromanage how research councils spend their budgets.

“I want more people in this country doing physics,” said Kendall, explaining her wider hopes for science. “Just look at quantum – we desperately need physicists and their expertise in quantum  and we have just put a £2 billion bet on quantum as a technology for the future,” she added.

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“I understand why people are worried but I hope when they see the final decisions are taken that they see our commitment to keeping Britain’s world-leading position [in physics] and they also see…that we value people going into physics as it is so important for the country,” she said.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com