Treasury guarantees UK academics’ European funding to end of 2020

Funding for UK researchers’ participation in European Union programmes has been guaranteed by the British government until the end of 2020, even in the event of a “no deal” Brexit.

The Treasury said on 24 July that it would guarantee funding until the end of the decade for universities that had secured grants from Horizon 2020 or similar projects, in the event that the UK crashes out of the bloc without an agreement with Brussels and European payments are cut off.

The announcement confirms a proposal first made in the joint report on phase one of Brexit negotiations released by the UK and the EU last December. Previously, the government had agreed to confirm funding for projects up to the UK’s departure from the EU in March 2019.

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the government would also agree to underwrite the UK’s full allocation for structural and investment fund projects.

“We continue to make positive steps towards getting the best possible deal with the EU – one that works for the whole of the UK,” he said.

“The guarantee we are making today, however, means that, even in the unlikely event of a no-deal, our businesses, universities and local authorities can be confident that they will continue to receive the funding they successfully bid for from any EU programme.”

The announcement comes after the UK government confirmed that EU students enrolling in English universities in 2019-20 would pay the same tuition fees as UK students and remain eligible for financial support for the duration of their courses.

rachael.pells@timeshighereducation.com