Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether Ministers were consulted by UK Research and Innovation or the Science and Technology Facilities Council before the decision was taken to end future operational funding for e-MERLIN.

Ministers were consulted throughout UK Research and Innovation's consideration of the Science and Technology Facilities Council's prioritisation outcomes, including through advice submitted on 15 June 2026 on proposals to manage STFC's financial pressures, which included the proposal not to continue funding e-MERLIN beyond March 2028, and further advice provided on 26 June and 2 July 2026. As part of the wider prioritisation approach, STFC protected Particle Physics, Astronomy, and Nuclear Physics (PPAN) grants, postdoctoral funding, PhD studentships and fellowships to help maintain long-term research capability.