To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage UK researchers to continue to make bids for Horizon 2020 funding.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
13 December 2017
The Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for scientists, innovators and tech investors across the world. We intend to secure the right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.
The Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government published on 8 December stated that UK entities’ right to participate in EU programmes will be unaffected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. This means that UK based organisations and individuals will be able to bid for funding, participate in and lead consortia, in 2019 and 2020, and will continue to receive funding for the lifetime of the project.
It remains the case that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, which is why the Government’s underwrite guarantee remains in place. UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU 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.