On Wednesday there was a session in the House of Lords under the headline of Medical Research Charities and the first person to speak about it was Diana Warwick who stated “To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their engagement with medical research charities regarding (1) their negotiations for association with Horizon Europe, and (2) the alternative Pioneer programme.” The Minister who responded during this session was Jonathan Berry and his initial response to Diana was

Jonathan Berry: We are moving forward with discussions on the UK’s involvement in Horizon Europe; that is our preference. We will continue to engage with representatives across the sector, including medical research charities, as these discussions progress. We have engaged widely with the sector on association and Pioneer, including with medical research charities, and we continue to welcome thoughts on the proposals laid out in the Pioneer prospectus.

A few minutes later Steve Bassam from our Brighton location asked this question and the answer is located below it. It is a very significant question and the answer is not very effective.

Steve Bassam: My Lords, it has now been 128 weeks of uncertainty, delay and broken promises since the Government took us out of the world’s biggest and most prestigious science fund, Horizon Europe. Will the Minister confirm or deny that part of the continued delay to the UK’s re-entry into the programme has been caused by a demand for a fee reduction? Does he agree that our continued exclusion from the scheme is damaging research and development collaborations across the EU that have benefited the UK in the past?

Jonathan Berry: I thank the noble Lord for that question. The first thing to remind the House is that it was not a decision of the UK Government not to be associated with the Horizon programme. Following the trade and co-operation agreement—of which association to Horizon was a part—that association was withdrawn from the United Kingdom. Beyond that, as I say, I cannot comment on the forces at work behind individual negotiation points, but I recognise the frustration and concern that result from the lengthy period of negotiations.