News from Council - May 2011

STFC Council met on 24 May to consider progress on development of the Operating Plan for 2011-12 and associated budget allocations to STFC Directorates, plans to invest the £20m capital assigned to STFC in the March Budget statement (£10m earmarked for growth initiatives at Daresbury) and cross Research Council work to implement a large facilities funding model for the UK. Council provided advice to the executive on a range of operational and strategic issues.

Council welcomed news that £10m of the new capital allocation had been successfully committed to ISIS Target Station II and considered in detail proposed plans to invest at Daresbury to promote growth at the Campus.

Updates were provided on the voluntary redundancy programme recently announced and associated restructuring discussions taking place within the organisation.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee's Report into Astronomy and Particle Physics was considered by Council, who welcomed the Committee's continued interest in the work of STFC and discussed the proposed STFC formal response.

Council discussed at length the advice received from the Science Board on options for restructuring the Council's science advisory board structure. Whilst supportive of the need to simplify the advisory structure, some details remain unresolved and therefore a working party consisting of members from Science Board, Council and the Executive was established to refine the proposals and report back to Council at the next meeting.

Council was pleased to welcome two new members to their first Council meeting, Julia Goodfellow and Ian Taylor.