Horizon Europe

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Monday 18th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I can indeed join my noble friend in congratulating the university on its work and confirm that Horizon’s five missions—cancer, soils, climate change, oceans and cities—are all issues with which we wholeheartedly agree and on which we are furthering research. We have always been clear that our priority is to support the UK’s R&D sector, and we will continue to do that in all future scenarios.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

I declare my interests as set out in the register. The EU Research Commissioner recently told MEPs that, while British researchers’ participation in the current scheme is assured,

“For the next programming period, we need a little bit more time, a little bit more information to evaluate all this in a more in depth way.”


How do the Government interpret those remarks and, given that other agreements with the EU are now being revisited, what reassurances can she give the research community that the commitment to Horizon Europe will not be withdrawn or substantially renegotiated?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

Any remarks that increase uncertainty among the research and knowledge community are obviously unhelpful. The UK’s participation in Union programmes under the TCA and Northern Ireland protocol are separate issues. We have negotiated those issues and provided all the information. I can but reaffirm that the delays are not coming from our side, and we see them as distinctly unhelpful for all concerned.