Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the implications for higher education providers of the reductions in Horizon 2020 EU research funding since the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.

As joint Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation at the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), I am responsible for considering developments in research funding and the implications for higher edcation (HE) providers in England.

The Office for Students, UK Research and Innovation, DfE and BEIS are working together to consider the potential impact of future developments in research funding on HE providers in England as part of wider work on financial sustainability.

UK education establishments have continued to be successful participants in Horizon 2020. As set out in the Horizon 2020 Official Statistics published last month by BEIS, there have been over 5,000 participations in Horizon 2020 projects by UK HE establishments between January 2014 and March 2018. These participations have attracted €2.73 billion of funding. This represents around 27% of all Horizon 2020 funding awarded to such establishments to date.

In December 2017, the UK and European Commission negotiating teams published a joint report on progress made during phase 1 of the negotiations. The joint report sets out that the UK and the EU fully intend UK participants’ eligibility in Horizon 2020 to remain unchanged for the duration of the programme.This includes eligibility to participate in Horizon 2020 projects and to receive Horizon 2020 funding for the lifetime of projects. The government’s underwrite guarantee of Horizon 2020 funding remains in place in the event that commitments enshrined in the joint report are not met. This guarantees funding for UK participants in projects ongoing at the point of exit.