The funding situation for the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
14 Jul 2026
By the end of the current Spending Review period in 2030 STFC needs to find savings of approx. £162m to ensure that we come within our four year budget. This page is an information hub with updates and FAQs on the potential implications of the STFC financial situation for ISIS.
Message to the community, published Tuesday 14 July 2026
A user community briefing was held on Thursday 9 July given by Michele Dougherty, STFC Executive Chair and Ian Chapman, UKRI Chief Executive. Over 1,300 members of our research community joined the briefing where they provided the outcomes of STFC’s prioritisation exercise. The briefing outlined the reductions that need to be taken to the STFC programme to make it sustainable financially in the medium and long term. Read about the STFC prioritisation outcomes.
We have shared with the ISIS user community in the past, through user meetings and emails, that ISIS will need to make reductions as part of the prioritisation process. We’ve described how these measures may affect ISIS running and operations, accelerator and other projects, instruments, labs, user support and other areas. ISIS has already reduced operations, closed some instruments and reduced accelerator projects.
In the briefing given on Thursday, UKRI communicated some specific decisions regarding ISIS.
Firstly, ISIS muon beamlines will need an alternative funding model or the capability will be closed. As part of full implementation planning, we will explore a range of options and funding possibilities in order to maintain as much capability and capacity as we can, and through detailed implementation we may find that it is better to keep some scope over others. We will also explore opportunities for diversifying and growing facility income.
Secondly, the briefing also included that STFC will need to reduce ISIS running time. We are currently running at 80% of full capacity, and it is possible this will need to reduce further to meet the available funding profile. The extent to which running level may be impacted will form part of the detailed implementation planning over coming months.
ISIS will need to make several changes to reduce costs, while also identifying opportunities to increase income, in line with the final decisions taken. Proposals for achieving this have been developed through discussions over recent months and draw on contributions from across all ISIS areas including operations, accelerator, instruments, user support, software, and other key functions. Further work is required to develop a full implementation plan and we will continue to keep the community informed as plans evolve and more information becomes available. Although there remains significant work ahead, we are confident that these measures will enable ISIS to be sustainable for the long term.
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 has identified ways its budget can be further reduced, and submitted this to STFC’s Executive Board. These, along with wider STFC input, have gone to UKRI and to DSIT. Final decisions are likely around October 2026.
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.
• Email the ISIS Director, Sarah Rogers
Or 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.
