"This report is a welcome reality check on the state of the nation’s leading scientific research facilities," said Paul Noon, General Secretary. "As the Budget showed yet again, the Government is spending more on commercial science but is cutting back on ‘public good’ programmes of science and its own research scientists."

Prospect’s own evidence to the committee warned against:

• continued transfers of work out of the Research Councils and into universities (eg Horticulture Research Institute, Natural Resources Institute)
• allowing important datasets and long-term monitoring activities to be discontinued because of funding cuts
• the Government’s sleight of hand in increasing the DTI science vote for the Research Councils whilst cutting back on other departmental spending on science
• the failure to ring-fence the science budget against shortfalls or overspends in other programmes.

All these concerns are endorsed by the committee and the subject of recommendations to ministers. Prospect strongly backs the committee’s finding that the Office of Science and Innovation be made responsible for monitoring national research facilities, and measuring the impact on science of changes to departmental or Research Council spending decisions.

Noon said: "This must be turned into a real power of scrutiny over proposals to close or merge institutes. OSI should start by setting up a database of public sector research capability so that the public knows the calibre of what is being done and what will be lost."

Since 2000, 14 public sector laboratories or sites have been closed and more than 800 science jobs in the public sector have been lost. Four institutes have been integrated with universities and five more are being transferred. In February, there were protests across the science community when DTI stole £68m from the Research Councils’ budget to finance other spending priorities.

At the same time the Research Councils remain the Government’s chief weapon for fighting avian flu, BSE, TB and other threats to animal and public health; finding new ways to measure and combat pollution; protect the environment from climate change; and explore new frontiers in science such as the Diamond synchrotron.