Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) protect and (b) promote early phase research in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the right outcome for UK research and innovation as we exit the European Union.

The UK and the EU fully intend UK entities’ eligibility in Horizon 2020 to remain unchanged for the duration of the programme, as set out in the Joint Report[1] and reflected in the text of the draft Withdrawal Agreement[2]. This includes eligibility to participate in all Horizon 2020 projects and to receive Horizon 2020 funding for the lifetime of projects. Independently of these agreements, the Government’s underwrite guarantee of Horizon 2020 funding remains in place. Through the underwrite guarantee, the Government has committed to ensuring all successful UK Horizon 2020 bids submitted before exit are funded for the duration of the project, including those bids who are only informed of their success or sign agreements after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Our future partnership paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation[3] sets out the UK’s desire to conclude a far-reaching science and innovation pact’ with the EU. As the Prime Minister set out on Monday 21 May, we would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes including the successor to Horizon 2020.

In order to promote research in the UK, we are investing an additional £7 billion in R&D funding over five years to 2022. This is the biggest increase in public R&D funding for over 40 years and as part of the Industrial Strategy[4] the Government made clear our ambition to increase R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joint-report-on-progress-during-phase-1-of-negotiations-under-article-50-teu-on-the-uks-orderly-withdrawal-from-the-eu

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-withdrawal-agreement-19-march-2018

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaboration-on-science-and-innovation-a-future-partnership-paper

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-building-a-britain-fit-for-the-future