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Open letter about how the cuts will affect Diamond

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Open letter about how the cuts will affect Diamond

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Note – We are advised that Diamond employees are permitted to sign open letters opposing funding cuts in a personal capacity, provided they do so without mentioning Diamond Light Source as their employer. Signatories should avoid using @diamond.ac.uk emails or distinct, site-specific job titles that may implicitly reveal their affiliation.

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Open Letter in Response to Funding Pressures Affecting Diamond Light Source

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Professor Michele Dougherty, Executive Chair, Science and Technology Facilities Council Professor Sir Ian Chapman, Chief Executive, UK Research and Innovation Re: Protecting Diamond Light Source as Strategic National Infrastructure Dear Professor Chapman and Professor Dougherty, We are writing to express our deep concern about the proposed reductions in support for Diamond Light Source.

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Copy the template text below and paste when prompted

SUBJECT – URGENT - Constituent Request to Oppose Funding Cuts Affecting Diamond Light Source

I am writing to you as one of your constituents and as an employee at Diamond Light Source Ltd on the Harwell Campus. I am contacting you urgently to request your support in opposing proposed budget reductions facing UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which pose a direct threat to our facility, workforce, and the UK's scientific capability.

Proposed operational budget cuts of up to 15–20% across national science facilities will severely impact day-to-day operations at Diamond Light Source. Reductions of this magnitude risk compromising staff capacity, training programs, and operational support that thousands of scientists rely on every year.

Diamond Light Source is critical national strategic infrastructure supporting groundbreaking research across drug discovery, cancer therapeutics, green energy technologies, and advanced materials. Major operational funding cuts risk far-reaching damage, including:

Loss of Specialist Technical Expertise: Technical and scientific roles roles require years of specialised training and rigorous regulatory certification. Threatening job security risks an irreversible loss of expert staff and safety infrastructure that cannot be easily replaced.

Compromised Operational Capacity and Beamtime: Operational budget constraints limit beamtime availability and specialist technical support for thousands of academic researchers and key UK industrial partners across pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.

Undermining Public Investment in Diamond-II: Squeezing operational budgets directly jeopardises the ROI on major strategic investments, including the crucial Diamond-II flagship upgrade. Upgrading state-of-the-art facilities is ineffective if operational funding is insufficient to staff and run them safely.

Harm to Regional and National Economy: Independent evaluations show Diamond generates £3 in socio-economic value for every £1 of public funding. Short-sighted cuts to absorb temporary financial pressures will cause long-term harm to the Thames Valley tech ecosystem and UK innovation.

As my representative in Parliament, I urge you to stand up for your constituents and the scientific community at Harwell by taking the following actions:

1. Write directly to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) to raise urgent concerns about the impact of STFC/UKRI budget cuts on Diamond Light Source, operational capacity, and regional employment.

2. Request an urgent meeting or update with UKRI and STFC leadership to advocate for workforce protections and sustainable operational funding for national strategic infrastructure.

3. Publicly oppose short-sighted operational cuts that undermine the UK's scientific leadership, safety standards, and regional economy.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with you further or provide additional details on how these cuts impact workers at Diamond Light Source.

Thank you for your time, leadership, and continued support for our local community.

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Open letter about how the cuts will affect STFC

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Open letter about how the cuts will affect STFC

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Note – We are advised that Diamond employees are permitted to sign open letters opposing funding cuts in a personal capacity, provided they do so without mentioning Diamond Light Source as their employer. Signatories should avoid using @diamond.ac.uk emails or distinct, site-specific job titles that may implicitly reveal their affiliation.

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Sign the Letter 27th July 2026 Professor Michele Dougherty Executive Chair, Science and Technology Facilities Council Professor Sir Ian Chapman Chief Executive, UK Research and Innovation Re: Early-Career Researchers' Response to STFC Prioritisation Outcomes for the Multidisciplinary Facilities User Communities Dear Professor Dougherty and Professor Sir Ian Chapman, The scientific community has already expressed deep concern over the proposed cuts to the operations of the Multidisciplinary Facilities (MDFs) such as ISIS, Diamond, and the Central Laser Facility; however, the specific impact on early-career researchers (ECRs) that rely on these facilities has not been discussed.

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The Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, home to one of the world’s largest steerable telescopes for more…

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