They are fighting to maintain funding for the Hannah Research Institute, Ayr, which will otherwise close with the loss of 12 research projects into human health and 70 scientific and support jobs.

In a move welcomed by Prospect, Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lewis Macdonald has agreed to meet the delegation on Thursday 2 June. Four local MSPs will be present on behalf of the HRI – Cathy Jamieson, Phil Gallie, Adam Ingram and Chris Ballance, plus Prospect negotiator Chris Finnerty and local Prospect convenor Iain Gow.

The meeting follows the proposal by SEERAD to halt core funding for HRI from April 2006. SEERAD will provide £2.468m of transitional funding over the next three years while HRI seeks a new partnership.

But Iain Gow pointed out this would only fund 20 staff at best, and so far, only seven scientists have been made offers. "Fifty quality research and support staff stand to be made redundant. Money that should be spent on science will instead be diverted to paying redundancy bills."

The Hannah delegation is to ask the minister to

• provide funding to develop as much of the quality Hannah science as possible
• allow resubmission of proposals where the partner has suddenly withdrawn support
• make compensation payments from the usual sources rather than from funds intended to develop Hannah science
• give the green light and meaningful support for partnership talks with Scottish universities and other research bodies to allow regeneration of the Ayr site
• support Prospect in helping scientists at HRI to find new employment if necessary.

The meeting, the first granted by SEERAD ministers since news of their intentions was made public, follows a debate on HRI in the Holyrood Parliament last month.

The Hannah Institute specialises in work related to breast cancer, diabetes and obesity. It supplied the cells from which a nucleus was taken by the Roslin Institute to breed Dolly the cloned sheep and is studying cell lines as models of malignant tumours in women.

Professor Bill Miller, a leading scientist in breast cancer, said: "The institute is one of the few that undertake research with a direct practical application. They have performed pioneering work, are well respected in the scientific community and it would be a tragedy if they were forced to close."