Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure that institutions in the UK are able to recruit and retain international cancer researchers after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
To retain the UK’s position as a world leader in research and innovation we recognise that the UK needs to continue to attract the brightest and best with high level skills who can support the research and innovation sector.
On 6 September the government published Collaboration on science and innovation - a future partnership paper, which is intended to start a full and open discussion with the EU about all of the options for continued collaboration. The UK will look to build on its unique relationship with the EU and establish an agreement on science and innovation that ensures the valuable research links between us continue to grow. The UK would like to work with the EU on designing this agreement, and would welcome a full and open discussion about all of the options for continued collaboration, including options to facilitate the mobility of researchers engaged in cross-border collaboration.
We have already taken steps to recruit and retain the best international researchers by committing to invest over £100 million over the next four years to attract the brightest minds to the UK.