Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Rob Marris (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 21 February 2008 on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Topical Questions

Question: I salute the Government's support for pure research in science, including physics. Last summer, I visited the impressive and worthwhile particle accelerator at CERN in Geneva. Can the Minister tell me how much support the Government has given to CERN, and when the facility will reopen following a rebuild?

Answer: The Government have provided a substantial amount of money to CERN—from memory, I think it is something like £700 million during the past four years. I can confirm that according to current plans, CERN will be open for business, with its new large hadron collider, in July this year. It is a tremendously exciting project—the biggest physics project ever—and it will provide great opportunities for the four experiment types planned at CERN.

Secondary information