UK science has lost out on hundreds of millions of pounds in European research funds as a result of Brexit uncertainty, a Royal Society report claims.

The analysis, on 16?October, reveals that the UK secured just 11?per cent of Horizon 2020 grants in 2018 (€1.06?billion, or ?920?million in total), compared with 16?per cent of funds signed for in 2015 (€1.49?billion, ?1.29?billion) ¨C representing a fall of almost a third, or €430?million (?372?million).

The study indicates that there was almost a 40?per cent drop in the number of UK applications to Horizon 2020 from pre-referendum levels, down from 19,127 in 2015 to 11,746 in 2018.

Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society, said the fall in European Union grant income was ¡°because of the uncertainty around Brexit¡±.

ÖйúAƬ

¡°The potential paralysis of a no-deal Brexit and the current state of chaos are hurting UK science, and that is hurting the national interest,¡± said Sir Venki.

The number of key researchers coming to the UK as part of the EU¡¯s Marie Sk?odowska-Curie fellowships has fallen by a third, with only 336 taking up posts in the UK in 2018 under the scheme, compared with 515 in 2018, the report adds.

ÖйúAƬ

¡°The UK has therefore missed out on attracting 179 internationally excellent scientists to its institutions through this scheme alone in 2018,¡± it explains, adding that ¡°our international competitors are benefitting¡±.

Sir Venki, a 2009 Nobel laureate in chemistry, commented that the ¡°dramatic drop in the number of leading researchers who want to come to the UK¡± was also clearly linked to the ongoing uncertainty over the UK¡¯s involvement in the EU¡¯s flagship research and innovation funding scheme.

¡°People do not want to gamble with their careers when they have no sense of whether the UK will be willing and able to maintain its global scientific leadership,¡± he said.

The report details that the UK has traditionally performed ¡°head and shoulders above all other EU nations¡± in attracting individuals via the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie programme.

ÖйúAƬ

¡°However since the referendum, this has seen a significant dent,¡± it adds.

The study also dismissed concerns that UK applications to Horizon 2020 had been turned down because of Brexit, stating that ¡°the success rate for UK applications has remained stable¡± between 2015 and 2018.

¡°The EU aren¡¯t punishing us ¨C when we apply we are successful,¡± it concludes.

The report calls for a deal for science that allows ¡°UK and EU scientists [to] continue to work in each other¡¯s countries with minimal friction, bureaucracy and cost¡± and ¡°keeps access to money and networks that support the UK to work with scientists around the world¡±.

ÖйúAƬ

It also calls on the government to ¡°ensure the UK has full association with the next EU research and innovation funding programme, Horizon Europe¡±.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com