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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the UK’s continued membership of Horizon Europe; and what plans they have made if an agreement with the EU is not reached.

The Government’s recently published Research and Development Roadmap sets out our aim to maintain a close and friendly relationship with our European partners and we are in negotiations with the EU to participate in the next generation of European research and innovation programmes starting in 2021: Horizon Europe and Euratom Research and Training. Negotiations with the Commission are constructive and we are open to participation, but there are still some areas to be agreed – including financial contributions and suspension and termination clauses.

As a responsible government, we are also developing a range of alternative measures to support international research and innovation alongside progressing the Horizon Europe negotiations. If we do not formally associate to Horizon Europe we will implement ambitious alternatives as quickly as possible from January 2021. This includes launching an ambitious new Discovery Fund, making funding available to allow UK partners to participate in European schemes open to third countries, and scaling up our most prestigious domestic research and innovation schemes.

In all scenarios, it is our aim that UK organisations and entities continue to participate in Horizon Europe collaborative projects, as well as in wider international collaborations.