UKRI has received a record four-year Spending Review settlement, and NERC are aligning their investments with national priorities to deliver the UKRI mission to advance knowledge, change lives and drive growth, while also ensuring they present value for money for the public. In response to inflationary pressures and the need to ensure a financially sustainable portfolio over the long term, NERC has conducted a review of its portfolio of Scientific Support and Facilities (S&F) and some Large Research Infrastructures (LRI).
Following this review, and consideration of available evidence on facilities use and costs, NERC's Executive Leadership Team has decided that NEIF will receive a budgetary reduction of £530K (12%) from 2026/2027 onwards. NEIF is one of five facilities within this part of the National Capability portfolio to receive such a reduction at this time.
This reduction will have an impact on NEIF's ability to continue to deliver at the present level and has prompted difficult decisions. Following reductions in NERC funding, each node of NEIF has had to consider how its future role can remain sustainable while continuing to provide high-quality support where it is best placed to do so.
NEIF users will see the following changes:
If you have any questions or comments related to the changes to the facility, the budgetary implications across the portfolio, or the process through which this was achieved, please email research facilities (researchfacilities@nerc.ukri.org). For any facility, capability, project, or use-specific queries, please contact the relevant facility or Adele Gardner (adga@bgs.ac.uk).