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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK's decision to leave the EU on UK-based medical research.

The UK will maintain its status as a global centre for research and innovation. The Government has already committed to protect science funding with a total investment of £26.3 billion over the period FY 2016/17 – FY 2020/21. In addition, the Autumn Statement announced an extra £2 billion a year in research and development by the end of this Parliament. The Treasury decision to underwrite the grants of competitively bid for EU research funding while we remain a member of the EU will give British participants and their EU partners the assurance and certainty needed to plan ahead for collaborative projects that can run over many years. We are committed to ensure that the UK continues to be a world leader in international science, including medical research.