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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK steel industry will continue to benefit from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel after the UK has left the EU.

The Government recognises the importance of R&D to help transform the steel sector so it can play a vital role within our modern Industrial Strategy. Increasing investment in R&D was one of the key recommendations in our 2017 Future capacities and capabilities of the UK steel industry study (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-steel-industry-future-market-opportunities), which sets out how the industry can increase its profitability and sustainability.

On ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, we will continue to participate in RFCS during the implementation period. We want to make sure that if we are signing up to future EU Programmes, they align with UK priorities and provide value for money. Where it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU Programmes. The exact terms of any participation would be subject to negotiation between the UK and the EU.