Alison Hume MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Education and Skills Reform · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Education Secretary’s statement and welcome her to place. Scarborough is one of the pilot areas for Mission Coastal, which aims to improve educational outcomes in our coastal communities. Could my right hon. Friend provide an update on the progress of Mission Coastal and the steps the Government are taking to tackle regional inequalities in GCSE attainment?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really important point. Certainty of funding is so important. We risk cutting off everything at the knees and, with our plan for growth, that is not something that the Labour Government can afford to do. The cuts are £162 million in cumulative savings by 2030. Brian Cox, TV scientist and professor at the University of Manchester, has likened the impact of these cuts to the “destruction of the future”. His concerns have been echoed by academics across the field, who fear that physics departments at universities will close. Professor Jeff Forshaw, also at Manchester, has said that these cuts are “annihilating” a field of research that inspired young people into physics. Multiple physics facilities carrying out world-leading research now face serious funding challenges or the threat of closure. Diamond Light Source and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source are facing cuts of 15% apiece. The Jodrell Bank observatory, home to the UK’s largest radio telescope for nearly 70 years, faces closure as early as 2028.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend entirely. This is about looking forward and investing in the future. Independent analysis by Arup shows that the proposed expansion of the Boulby site and the construction of XLZD would bring approximately £587 million to the UK economy through the creation of skilled jobs, by increasing supply chains in advanced manufacturing and by attracting scientific investment into the region. There are also plans for a visitor centre to showcase the north-east’s remarkable contribution to our understanding of the universe, which could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Although the Government are increasing spending on research and development, I would be grateful if the Minister could answer a couple of questions. First, why does the facility in the north-east face more than double the cuts faced by facilities in the south? Will she set out how the Department, UK Research and Innovation and the STFC assessed the relative value of investment in fundamental physics compared with other areas of research and development? Will she publish the evidence that underpins the decisions? Has the Minister looked at the cumulative impact of the cuts on physics as a discipline in the United Kingdom? On Boulby specifically, will the Minister please explain how the Government have assessed the laboratory’s unique strategic position? What weight has been given to the projected economic impact of the expansion of the Boulby lab? Finally, will the Minister explicitly restate the Government’s interest in and support for the XLZD project? It is a project of such international stature that it could deliver the discovery of dark matter, which would be worthy of a Nobel prize. I appreciate that I have asked my hon. Friend the Minister a lot of questions, but I assure her that they pale in comparison with the number of questions physicists ask themselves every day. Science facilities such as Boulby are places where discoveries are made, young people are inspired, international partnerships are forged and the foundations of future industries are laid. With XLZD at Boulby, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the UK to make one of the biggest discoveries of our age in the search for dark matter. It offers transformational economic opportunity for the north-east, and would strengthen our industrial strategy, skills base and reputation on the world stage. I therefore urge the Minister to recognise the exceptional national value of Boulby underground laboratory and other UK science facilities and laboratories, and to ensure that Britain remains at the forefront of scientific discovery for decades to come.