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 is taking to secure association to Horizon.

The UK stands ready to formalise our association to EU programmes at the earliest opportunity. However, the EU’s delays to the UK’s association are putting long term science collaboration at risk.

We are urging the Commission to finalise the UK’s participation in Horizon as soon as possible. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have raised the ongoing delays with our counterparts in Europe, including Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. The UK also discussed association and the delays at the EU-UK Specialised Committee in December 2021.

Supporting the UK’s research and development sector through this period of uncertainty remains our top priority. In order to provide reassurance, the UK Government has guaranteed funding for the first and second waves of eligible successful applicants to Horizon Europe. And if the UK is unable to associate to Horizon Europe we will be ready to introduce a comprehensive alternative programme of international science, research and innovation collaborations.