Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government plans to support research collaboration with other countries in the event that the UK ceases to receive funding through the Horizon 2020 programme after March 2019.

This Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains among the best places in the world for science and innovation. This is why we are increasing research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21, an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending, more than any increase in any parliament since 1979.

This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.

As my Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. However it is too early to speculate on the UK’s future relationship with specific EU research programmes, including Horizon 2020 and successor programmes.

On 6 September we published a future partnership paper on collaboration on science and innovation. As part of the new deep and special partnership with the EU, recognising our shared interest in maintaining and strengthening research collaboration, the UK will seek an agreement that promotes science and innovation across Europe now and in the future.

UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU and we will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Government will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. This includes awards that are bid for before exit that are successful after exit.

The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.