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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government's policy paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation: Future Partnership Paper, published on 6 September 2017, what assessment the Government has made on the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on its targets of UK research and development spending reaching 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that that target is reached.

This Government has set out its vision to meet R&D investment of 2.4% of GDP within ten years and 3% in the longer-term. R&D funding from the EU contributes to overall R&D expenditure in the UK and we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives.

While we remain a member of the EU, UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds, 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.

Going forward, our ambition for R&D investment will be an important part of our Industrial Strategy and will require a concerted cross-government approach. We have already increased R&D investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21. This equates to an extra £2 billion per year by 2020-21 and is an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending, more than any increase in any parliament since 1979.