Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the financial viability of research projects in receipt of funding from Horizon 2020 after that funding ceases in 2020.

The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that UK entities’ right to participate in EU programmes, such as Horizon 2020, will be unaffected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for the lifetime of projects financed by the current MFF, including where funding agreed before the end of the transition period extends beyond 2020. UK based organisations and individuals will be able to bid for funding, participate in and lead consortia, until programme closure.

This provides valuable reassurance to UK researchers and institutions that they can continue to collaborate with European partners for the lifetime of projects financed by the current MFF, and vice versa.

Once agreed as part of the Withdrawal Treaty, this will supersede the requirement for the domestic guarantee announced by the Government in 2016. UK organisations should continue to bid for EU funding with the assurance that payments will continue after our departure from the EU.