Science and Discovery Centres

[Carolyn Harris in the Chair]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of Science and Discovery Centres on national science and technology priorities.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am pleased to have secured this debate and look forward to contributions from hon. Members representing some of the 28 science and discovery centres, or SDCs, across the UK. My connection with science centres, and in particular Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr’s own Centre for Alternative Technology, commonly known as the CAT, is deeply personal. It is, in fact, the reason I am here today representing my constituency.

Representing a rural Welsh constituency might seem unusual for someone with a father from Surrey and a mother from Camberwell. My father was the first in his family to go to university, where he studied agricultural economics. After graduating, my parents moved to Montgomeryshire in the 1970s and settled in Machynlleth. They were among the founding members of the CAT, one of the oldest science centres in the UK. My father went on to create the agricultural section at the CAT, introduce livestock to the site, and even welcome the King—then Prince Charles—on his first visit.

My family then moved to Glyndŵr. Since they left, the CAT no longer has livestock, but it now has hot water—a luxury that the founding members of the CAT could only have dreamed of. In the intervening decades, the centre has grown from strength to strength, and now welcomes learners of all ages on visits, from schoolchildren to its own postgraduate students, as well as businesses and local authorities that want to explore the solutions that we know are possible to combat the climate and biodiversity crisis. I am immensely proud that my constituency is home to the CAT, but although Members might expect me to be partisan, it is just one of many brilliant science centres across the UK.

SDCs are a unique national asset and a proud legacy of the last Labour Government. They exist to make science open, accessible and aspirational for everyone. Their mission is to ignite curiosity and nurture a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, driven by the principle that access to science is a fundamental right. Broadening participation from diverse regions and backgrounds is good not only for individuals, but for UK society and for science itself.

I congratulate the hon. Member on leading this debate and on finding a Government Department to respond to it; until now, a number have eschewed any responsibility. He is right about the world of opportunity that is open to our young people. I am privileged to have in my constituency Northern Ireland’s only SDC, the Odyssey, and particularly W5 within it. He is right to credit the last Labour Government for bringing those forward as part of their millennium investments. Does he recognise that, 25 years on, there is a challenge around capital investment, and that it would be wonderful if this Labour Government could invest again in SDCs?

I am in full agreement. As the hon. Member will see, one of my key asks is that we look at the funding for SDCs moving forward.

As a teacher, nothing matters more to me than ensuring that people have access to opportunity. As a drama teacher, STEM was never my strongest suit, but the importance of fostering curiosity—and, most importantly, ensuring that everyone can access it—has always been central to why I became a teacher and an MP.

SDCs operate in all four nations of the UK, reaching more than 5.2 million schoolchildren, families and communities through science and technology in the last year alone. Over the past two years, these organisations have worked with more than 37% of all UK schools. Fifty-five per cent of all visitors identify as women and girls, and many centres provide visits completely free of charge, enabling over 450,000 people from communities traditionally under-represented in STEM to participate in science, research and innovation each year. They are among the few places where broad and inclusive community engagement, the development of essential STEM skills among future generations, and cutting-edge scientific research all come together under one roof.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this really important debate, and on his excellent and inspirational speech. The Centre for Life in Newcastle celebrated its 25th birthday last year. I have been inspired by its openness and how it supports young people from all backgrounds and different areas of the north-east to engage with life sciences. As an engineer from an impoverished background, knowing that the Centre for Life in Newcastle is opening up the huge universe of science and scientific curiosity is so reassuring.

It is lovely to hear that my hon. Friend is just as passionate about the SDC in her patch as I am about the one in mine.

I thank the hon. Member for giving so much time for interventions. He will not be surprised to hear that I represent one of four science centres in Scotland. Over the last 25 years, Dundee Science Centre has given STEM experiences to more than 2.5 million people, and we look forward to enhancing that through the Eden Project at the city’s former gasworks. He mentioned climate change and environmental degradation, and these things need to be challenged. I am happy to hear that the hon. Member agrees that public funding should be committed to this area. Will he go further and suggest to the Minister that there be a timetable for that funding, so that both the Eden Project and our science centres across Scotland and the rest of the UK can be supported?

I am happy to convey that ask.

Through their role as trusted anchor institutions with strong civic ties to schools, teachers, industry and research partners, SDCs have an important role to play in a number of areas. The UK faces a serious STEM skills shortage. Nearly half of engineering and technology businesses report recruitment difficulties, and these shortages are estimated to cost our economy £1.5 billion a year. The centres can help to harness the skills needed for future growth in key industrial sectors. They are also essential for building public understanding and trust around new technologies, including artificial intelligence. They can help to deliver the Government’s TechFirst programme, providing digital skills and AI learning opportunities for 1 million secondary school students and 7.5 million workers, ensuring that innovation is not only technology-led but user-centric. They can even serve as national testbeds for ethical reflection and citizen co-design in research and innovation.

The Centre for Alternative Technology is truly the jewel in the crown of Montgomeryshire. It has always been ahead of its time in pioneering a more sustainable and environmentally friendly world. For over half a century, the CAT has combined cutting-edge research with world-class education to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon future. Its history is remarkable: it installed the first hydroelectric turbine on site in 1974, followed by the first wind turbine and the UK’s first completely solar-heated building in 1975. In 2003, it installed the first community-owned wind turbine in Wales, on the hills above the CAT. From installing the first photovoltaic roof to building eco-cabins and a water-balanced cliff railway, it truly has provided a blueprint for change. In 2023, the centre celebrated 50 years of ecological innovation.

The CAT is a major employer in mid-Wales and currently supports 78 staff, with an extensive reach. It has trained over half of all UK councils in carbon literacy and hosted STEM Learning’s POP25—Protecting our Planet Day 2025—broadcasting live to more than 200,000 schoolchildren. These initiatives spark curiosity in young minds, open pathways into STEM subjects and inspire green careers. A visit to the CAT as a child can have a lifelong impact.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this excellent debate and on his excellent speech. One of the most important and exciting aspects of SDCs, such as the excellent Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in my constituency of Wrexham, which neighbours his constituency, is their ability to reach those from disadvantaged and lower-income backgrounds, and to let them see the possibilities of a career in science and where that can lead. Does he agree that it is time for the Government to recognise these SDCs, so that they can build on that?

I have a confession to make: after CAT, Xplore!, in my hon. Friend’s constituency, is my second favourite SDC—I have visited it many times. I am in full agreement with him, as the House would expect.

Solefield school has brought pupils to the CAT for 40 years. Its head of science, Kevin Farmery, said:

“I can teach them all this in the science lab, but here they see it come to life. That makes a real impact.”

Dr Dai Morgan, who is now at the University of Cambridge, first visited the CAT as a child. That experience inspired him to study sustainable engineering, and he brings postgraduate students from Cambridge to the centre annually to encourage global action.

Our constituency may lack a university, but we have something better in the CAT. With its unique history, it continues to offer outstanding degree and postgraduate courses in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the University of East London. Currently, 700 postgraduate students are enrolled in programmes covering renewable energy, sustainable food and land use, sustainable architecture, green building, ecology and behaviour change.

The CAT’s influence extends beyond education. Its legacy includes the growth of over 50 sustainable businesses and organisations via its postgraduate students, inspired volunteers or research experiments that take place directly on site. Such organisations include Dulas, Aber Instruments, Adaptavate and IndiNature. Dulas, established at the CAT in 1982, invented a solar fridge that preserves vaccines and saves lives worldwide. IndiNature, founded by the CAT graduate Scott Simpson, was named manufacturer of the year by the UK Green Business Awards in 2025. The CAT is not just a centre; it is a catalyst for change locally, nationally and globally.

However, like many SDCs across the UK, the CAT is facing significant challenges. Unlike museums, art galleries, theatres and libraries, which can access Government and national lottery funding for their infrastructure needs, SDCs have historically been excluded from public funding. Like other publicly accessible cultural spaces, SDCs’ costs have risen significantly in recent years due to factors such as the cost of living crisis and energy prices. Unfortunately, these centres’ ability to grow revenues from their core audience to offset the increased costs is limited. They need to keep entry prices low and offer subsidised or free access to deliver their charitable mission and maintain access for underserved groups and communities.

I thank my hon. Friend for the passionate points that he is making. I want to support him by pointing out that the answer to a parliamentary question of mine in October stated that the Minister for Science, Lord Vallance, was following up

“with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to explore a coordinated approach to supporting these centres.”

Just before Christmas, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology wrote to me to say that

“officials from across departments with an interest in SDCs are meeting to discuss options for sustainable support.”

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is time we had an answer to the question of where sustainable support—which, as he said, DSIT should lead—would come from?

Yes, I do. I do not think that DCMS and DFE should be completely absent from the equation, but I agree that DSIT should lead.

What meaningful action does the Minister intend to take to address the funding and infrastructure challenges currently faced by science centres? Will he respond to the request from the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, supported by more than 3,100 leading scientists, academics, business leaders and educators in an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Department late last year, for £19.5 million of public funding, match funded by £19.5 million from the centres themselves, which is essential to address immediate infrastructure risks?

Does the Minister also agree that it is essential to formally recognise science centres as part of the UK’s scientific and cultural ecosystem, whether by expanding eligibility for existing funding streams or by creating a dedicated science engagement fund? Does he agree that it is unfair for SDCs to be excluded from public infrastructure funds that are available to comparable organisations, including museums and libraries?

I urge the Minister to meet the Association for Science and Discovery Centres and its members, and work with them and MPs representing science centres to find a solution to these issues. Will he collaborate with colleagues in DCMS, the DFE, English mayoral combined authorities and the devolved Governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure that SDCs and their work are adequately recognised and supported? Solutions must work across all four nations.

I apologise for not being here at the very beginning of the debate; as I explained to you, Mrs Harris, I was running late because I had a meeting with a Minister beforehand.

The hon. Gentleman is right to underline these issues, which affect not just England, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—all of us. At the W5 in east Belfast, science is to the fore. It has exhibits on science, technology, maths and innovation, but they are always educational, and schools by their thousands attend it. But it is not just that: we have the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, the Ulster Folk Museum, the Ulster Museum and Exploris in my constituency. I support the hon. Gentleman’s request for a meeting, but will he ask for those in Northern Ireland to be part of that process? Perhaps my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) and I could also be invited.

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman made that intervention. I am an MP from a devolved nation, too. There are few of us here, and it is fundamentally important that we recognise that this is a four-nation issue. It is complicated by the fact that education is devolved, which is the main reason that I think science centres should sit with DSIT so that all four home nations can be encompassed more easily.

Finally, I request a meeting with the Minister on additional support for Welsh science centres. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given our size, Wales has only a handful of science centres: the CAT in my constituency, Xplore! in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) and Techniquest in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty). I am eager to ascertain how we as Welsh MPs can best support our science centres, not only to ensure their continued survival but to create a climate in which they grow, flourish and thrive. I would therefore greatly appreciate a meeting with the Minister to address that issue.

I thank the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, Eileen and all those who work tirelessly at the CAT, and every dedicated individual across the 28 SDCs nationwide. Their contributions inspire curiosity, advance STEM engagement and create truly invaluable climate solutions. SDCs are not optional extras, but vital national assets. The UK-wide network of 28 centres is a cornerstone of our broader science and research ecosystem. That is a key legacy of the last Labour Government. With proper recognition, urgent investment in infrastructure and long-term capital renewal funds, the CAT and the other outstanding centres across the UK can continue to ignite curiosity, expand green skills and unlock the full potential of UK science and technology for a healthy, secure and sustainable future. I am confident that today’s debate will demonstrate the strength of cross-party support for this cause.

Order. I will start the Front-Bench contributions at 3.28 pm, and I will impose an unofficial five-minute limit to start.