The funding situation for the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
22 Apr 2026
We need your input on how potential reductions to the ISIS budget would affect your research. Until 6 May 2026, you can provide comments via an online form - responses will be seen by the ISIS Leadership team.
STFC needs to find savings of around £162M per year by the end of the current spending review (March 2030). As this will affect ISIS operations, we are engaging with the ISIS user community to ask for your comments.
Due to previous funding pressures, ISIS is currently operating a reduced number of days – around 80% of full capacity. Some staff who have left have not been replaced, leading to some reductions in instrument operations and a variety of other effects. Beyond these things, further savings will be necessary for STFC to reach its budget, and ISIS must consider further reductions to operations, projects and capabilities.
ISIS is being asked to make recommendations within the next month on how it can further reduce its budget to feed into the wider STFC process, gain UKRI approval and be able to enact changes by the start of the next financial year. Options currently being considered include further reductions to the user programme alongside accelerator, computing and engineering projects.
At the NMSUM 2026 meeting, the community was asked for advice on how ISIS can best enable science delivery given the need to make further cost savings. ISIS users were asked what they most needed from the facility to support their science, and whether there are aspects of what is currently provided that are less critical. . Whilst no decisions have been made, a wide range of areas are being discussed (such as further reducing beam days or instrument numbers; looking at the level of community support, such as travel and studentships; and the level of laboratory support).
See the FAQs below for further information.
Frequently asked questions
STFC needs to reduce its net annual operational costs.The amount of the reduction, relative to current forecasts, is £162 million by the end of the 2029 to 2030 financial year. As part of STFC, ISIS is being asked to reduce its operating budget to enable STFC to meet its budget. Savings need to be fully in place by the end of 29/30, but have already started and will continue to be made over upcoming years.
No. All of STFC – the grant-giving side that funds particle physics and astronomy research as well as National Laboratories (including the Central Laser Facility and Diamond Light Source) – need to reduce budgets.
ISIS has been running at 80% of capacity (4 cycles out of 5) for 2 years already. In addition, we have lost around 10% of staff through natural turnover, and have largely been unable to replace them. This is affecting instruments (one closure, some reduced operations), technical support and accelerator projects amongst other things.
As mentioned above, ISIS is already seeing the financial effects through reduced operations. We don’t want to go below 80% running, but can’t rule this out; we may need to further reduce operating days or instrument numbers; support given to users; provision of labs; studentships; further accelerator projects; computing projects – for example.
Further savings need to be in place for the 27/28 financial year (with full savings in place by 29/30). In order to achieve this, ISIS is being asked to give possible ways that its budget can be reduced by end of May ready for STFC’s Executive Board to consider in June. STFC needs then needs to submit its plans to UKRI. Final decisions are likely around October.
This means that time is short for community feedback. We need your input by 6 May 2026 on how cuts to the ISIS budget would affect your research. You can provide comments via an online form – responses will be seen by the ISIS leadership team.
Detailed discussions with the community took place at the UK Neutron and Muon Science and User Meeting (NMSUM) in April 2026. Following this, the community has been contacted and invited to give further feedback. We will continue to provide the community with updates as the process develops and as we are able.
There are several ways:
• Fill in the online form by 6 May 2026
• Email the ISIS Director, Sarah Rogers
If you would prefer to give your comments to a representative of the user community, you can:
• Email Kathi Edkins, Chair of STFC’s Multidisciplinary Facility User Advisory Panel which provides advice to STFC.
• Email Lucy Clark, Chair of the IoP/RSC Neutron Scattering Group.
Endeavour is the programme of new instrument builds at ISIS. 80% of its funding comes from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund – this is not affected by STFC’s financial situation and is therefore secure. Around 6% comes from ISIS’s international partners and is also secure. Around 14% is due to come from STFC and so may be affected by the current financial situation. Therefore, most if not all of Endeavour will continue.
ISIS will ensure we fulfil our international agreements. UK and partner countries will be prioritised in allocation of beamtime.
No – UK access to these overseas neutron facilities is governed by international agreements and paid for separately.
