Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether spending on Horizon was included in calculations of UK science spend prior to 2016; and whether spending on Horizon or Pioneer forms part of the Government's commitment to double science spend.

The annual ONS release, Research and development (R&D) expenditure by the UK government, includes indicative UK contributions to EU R&D expenditure, both recently and in editions prior to 2016. The breakdown can be found in the link below:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/bulletins/ukgovernmentexpenditureonscienceengineeringandtechnology/previousReleases.

This Government has recommitted to increasing public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025 - a cash increase of approximately a third compared to 2021/22. This includes funding for the UK’s association to Horizon Europe if the UK can agree fair and appropriate terms with the EU, or its alternative, Pioneer, if the UK is unable to secure association.