Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure UK applicants are eligible for the November 2023 Horizon Europe call relating to the Copernicus Security Service.

We are confident that we will be able to use the Horizon Europe programme to collaborate on areas of shared interest. The UK-EU joint statement of 7 September 2023 includes the EU’s commitment to assess UK participants’ access to strategic parts of the Horizon Europe programme on equal terms with other associated countries. Since the negotiated outcome, my officials have prioritised engagement with the EU at a technical level on the nature of our access to these areas, including space. Existing provisions in the TCA provide additional safeguards to ensure that if the UK is excluded from parts of Horizon Europe, it will not have to pay contributions for that part of the programme.