Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 July 2026
Correspondence from Professor Tim Gershon, University of Warwick and CERN LHCb Spokesperson and Dr Paula Collins, CERN LHCb Deputy Spokesperson, regarding UK funding for the Large Hadron Collider upgrade, 9 July
From: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Inquiry: Scientific research funding
Summary
Professors Gershon and Collins update the Science Committee on UK funding for the Large Hadron Collider's LHCb upgrade. They report that international partner countries remain committed to the project but that UK withdrawal of UKRI infrastructure funding has created uncertainty damaging Britain's scientific reputation. They urge reconsideration, noting the European Strategy for Particle Physics prioritises full exploitation of the HL-LHC, which requires LHCb's successful upgrade.
Key findings
- International funding agencies confirmed continued financial commitment to LHCb Phase II Upgrade; several countries prepared to contribute above their nominal share if UK reduces its involvement.
- UK funding uncertainty introduced by UKRI deprioritisation has been widely noted at CERN and international conferences, creating project schedule risk and undermining CERN Director-General's HL-LHC delivery objectives.
- The European Strategy for Particle Physics (updated June 2026) identifies full exploitation of LHC and HL-LHC as first priority, explicitly requiring successful operation and upgrade of all four major experiments including LHCb.
- CERN Council's 2026–2030 strategy and 2027–2031 financial plan align with the European strategy, placing LHCb upgrade as top priority alongside HL-LHC exploitation.
- Authors argue the UKRI decision was 'predicated on incorrect information' and has caused 'unnecessary damage' to UK reputation; call for reversal or prioritisation through STFC as mitigation.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Professor Tim Gershon, University of Warwick and CERN LHCb Spokesperson, Dr Paula Collins, CERN LHCb Deputy Spokesperson, Dame Chi Onwurah, Science Committee Chair, Sarah Verth, UK funding agency representative, Professor Michele Dougherty, CERN Council Delegate and STFC Chair, Professor Ian Chapman, CERN Director-General
Notable line
“… the decision to withdraw the UKRI Infrastructure Award for the LHCb Upgrade was a bad one, predicated on incorrect information, that has caused a huge amount of unnecessary damage to the UK's reputation.”
Key Quotes
“The continuing uncertainty risks undermining the CERN Director-General's objective of delivering the upgrades and fully exploiting the HL-LHC programme according to schedule.”
“… it was widely acknowledged that the situation in the UK has introduced significant uncertainty into the project schedule.”
“The first recommendation of the updated strategy is that the physics potential of both the LHC and the HL-LHC should be fully exploited. This explicitly requires the successful operation of all four major experiments—ATLAS, CMS …”
“In her responses, Professor Dougherty noted that Professor Ian Chapman had expressed surprise at the strength of the community's reaction. To us, this suggests once again that the full impact of these cuts on the UK scientific community and its international standing may not have been fully appreciated when the decision was made.”
“We remain of the opinion that the decision to withdraw the UKRI Infrastructure Award for the LHCb Upgrade was a bad one, predicated on incorrect information, that has caused a huge amount of unnecessary damage to the UK's reputation.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗