Rishi Sunak delays decision on UK joining Horizon until summer

To the dismay and disappointment of many scientists, Rishi Sunak is planning to delay his decision about whether Britain will join the €95.5bn EUR Horizon science program until after the summer holiday.

Researchers and academics had hoped Sunak will make a decision by Thursday before the House of Commons breaks for its summer break. But a government insider told us: “There is no plan to announce anything this week.” I would be surprised if anything happened over the summer.

The British government has described Britain as a “superpower in science and technology”, but the negotiations about whether or not the UK should take part in the flagship European Science Collaboration Programme have been going on for many months .

Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: “This information, if it is true, will cause scientists to be dismayed. Horizon’s association agreement was drafted two and a quarter years ago.

“But we still wait and the damage caused by continued uncertainty and further possible delay continues.”

The UK has already missed out on two years in a programme running from 2021-2027. Officials are now discussing the possibility of joining three years later, in 2024.

Sunak’s delay in completing the project was initially linked to a toxic post-Brexit dispute between London and Brussels about rules of trade for Northern Ireland. But, Sunak has been stalling because he wants a good return on investment.

Sunak’s ally said that there is still “iterative discussion” with Brussels regarding a possible agreement, adding: “This must be the right deal both for the UK and UK taxpayer.”

I think the people would prefer that we take our time to do things right. We will not agree to something unless it makes us 100% happy.

Vivienne Stern is the head of Universities UK. The sectoral group. She said, “We recognize that the UK Government wants to secure a faire deal and that both sides need flexibility and creativity, but we wish they would hurry. Delay comes at a cost and benefits of a deal extend beyond financial gains.

The negotiations over Horizon focused in part on the “correction mechanisms” which determine what happens if UK gets significantly less value out of the program than they pay for.

As part of the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement the UK has agreed to pay £2bn per year for associate membership in Horizon 2020. However, talks have been stalled over the UK’s contributions for the shortened participation in the seven-year program.

The European Commission stated: “As anticipated by the TCA we are in discussion with the UK regarding its participation in EU programs.”

Martin Smith, director of policy at Wellcome Trust (the charitable foundation for health research), said that there would be frustration about the delay, but that the negotiators now need “the space to find a resolution”.

Smith stated that one of the consequences would be “a significant underspend” from Horizon association’s money.

He said that there will be a new battle over how to use any money left over between now and the next association. “And if they’re returned to the Treasury, whether it will eventually find its way to be spent on science or lost in the back of fiscal sofa.”

Treasury officials said that the amount allocated for science spending was fixed, and could not be “reprofiled”. One official said, “This isn’t a clever bean-counter thing.”

Tim Bradshaw is the chief executive officer of the Russell Group, a group of universities. He said that despite the delays full UK participation in this world’s largest research program remains the best outcome. We hope to confirm a deal as soon as possible.

He said: “The scope of Horizon Europe’s research will deliver medical breakthroughs and new technologies in areas like AI, to improve our lives, and tackle shared environmental, social, and economic challenges.”