Government commits nearly half a billion pounds for UK research to cover EU shortfall

21 Nov 2022 11:49 PM

The package will provide much needed immediate investment to researchers, universities and research organisations, and be delivered across the UK.

The Business Secretary yesterday (Monday 21 November) announced up to £484 million in research funding to support the R&D sector, in response to the EU’s refusal to finalise the UK’s association to Horizon Europe and other related EU science programmes as agreed under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2020.

These investments will provide targeted support for staff retention and local talent strategies at eligible universities and research organisations, as well as making sure the UK labs remain world class and at the cutting edge of R&D.

The funds will also provide a catalyst for the growth in the UK’s burgeoning fusion industry, ensuring the UK can retain and build on its position as a global leader in fusion science.

Yesterday’s support builds on the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, extended in September, which continues to provide funding for eligible, successful UK winners of Horizon Europe calls to ensure UK researchers and businesses can continue to collaborate internationally.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps yesterday said:

This immediate investment will help our excellent research sector to shore up their talent pools, invest confidently in infrastructure and protect the UK’s reputation as a science superpower.

The UK cannot wait indefinitely for the EU to meet its commitments which is why this funding is so important to boost research and innovation across the breadth of our country.

The government is disappointed that the EU is still linking UK association with wider issues, and the UK remains open to association, but cannot wait indefinitely.

The package includes:

Notes to Editors

The UK and the EU agreed the terms for the UK’s association to programmes (Horizon Europe, Euratom, Fusion for Energy, Copernicus) and access to programmes services under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

UK association could not be finalised at the time as the underpinning EU legislation was not in place. That EU legislation has now been in place for 19 months. It remains the UK’s preference to associate to these science programmes, but the European Commission is refusing to implement the agreement reached under the TCA.

To support UK researchers and innovators and to provide certainty, we launched the Horizon Europe guarantee in November 2021. The guarantee ensures that eligible UK applicants who have been successfully evaluated by the European Commission (EC) have access to funding while the EU continues to delay finalising our association to Horizon Europe. It covers all calls that have an application deadline on or before 31 December 2022.

The Horizon Europe guarantee is working and is providing eligible, successful UK winners of Horizon Europe calls with funds to continue their work in the UK and their international partners; this additional package of spending sits alongside the guarantee to offer additional support to the R&D sector.

Read the open letter on the package of immediate investment for the UK’s R&D sector.