Lord Watson of Richmond

The Government has committed to guarantee funding for all successful eligible UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before the end of 2020, for the lifetime of projects. We have also guaranteed funding for participation in all Horizon 2020 projects open to third countries after exit, which are collaborative projects. The Science Minister has written to his counterparts across the EU to set this out.

UK researchers and innovators have continued to be successful in securing European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) funding, with the UK consistently ranking first in both areas since the beginning of Horizon 2020 in 2014.

In addition, the Government has committed to ensuring that all UK bids to mono-beneficiary ERC, MSCA and SMEi (now known as European Innovation Council Accelerator) calls that are submitted to Horizon 2020 before Exit are evaluated in all scenarios. This means researchers and innovators can continue to submit proposals to Horizon 2020 with confidence, right up to the point of exit, knowing that the best proposals will be funded – regardless of how we leave the EU.

Looking ahead, we have also affirmed our commitment to increasing R&D investment to at least 2.4% of GDP and will be setting our plans to reach this later this Autumn, providing long-term certainty to the scientific community. Additionally, the Government remains committed to ensuring that world leading talent is attracted to and retained within the UK. On 8 August, the Prime Minister announced a new fast-track immigration scheme aimed at enabling a wider pool of scientific talent to come to the UK. This scheme will ensure that those with specialist skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects can come to the UK and make an important contribution to our leading science and research sectors, significantly enhancing the intellectual and knowledge base of the UK.

At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the negotiations result in a deal that works for Britain and is in the interests of everyone in the UK.

We have taken the conscious decision to build a national consensus to our approach to the negotiations. We are consulting a wide range of stakeholders in order to create a national picture of what people want from a deal on exiting the EU. This will allow us to deliver on what the country asked us to do through the referendum, by identifying the opportunities as well as the challenges.

We have already said that we will consult and work with the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, because we want Brexit to work in the interests of the whole country.

The Spending Review set budgets for the National Health Service for the years up to and including 2020-21. Costs in the NHS may be impacted by a number of factors and these are regularly discussed with HM Treasury.

On 13 April 2016, HM Treasury published its analysis of the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives. It concluded that the UK would be permanently poorer if it left the EU. The document also notes that a UK exit from the EU would be likely to have a significant negative effect on the economy in the short term. A subsequent government document will examine in detail the short-term economic implications associated with leaving the EU.