Oral Answers to Questions

Cheryl Gillan Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have been very clear in this House on many occasions about the plan that we have for Brexit. Crucially, we will be leaving the European Union and we will be triggering article 50 by the end of March next year, and that is when the formal negotiations will start. It is absolutely right that we do not set out at this stage every single detail of our proposed negotiating strategy, because that would be the best way to get the worst possible deal for Britain.

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

Q12. As we leave the European Union, maintaining the UK’s cutting edge and world leadership in scientific and technological discovery is of paramount importance to our industries and universities. May I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that, each year, we will invest a further £2 billion in research and development to boost our science and engineering base? Is not this just the type of vital support that our businesses and researchers need, rather than the threats from the Labour party to slash the R and D tax credits, which would hamper innovation and harm our economy?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The extra investment that we will be putting into research and development is a crucial part of our long-term task of ensuring that we have the economy and the growth and prosperity that we need in this country. The new funds will help to put us at the cutting edge of scientific discovery. That is already happening. I visited the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge on Monday and saw for myself the really exciting and transformational work that is being done, and it is coming out of the knowledge base and the scientific research of the United Kingdom. We want to see more of that, which is why we will be investing in it.