The Westminster government has its funding guarantee for UK-based winners of grants from the European Union¡¯s Horizon Europe programme.?

The guarantee scheme, which launched in November 2021, is supposed to be a stopgap until the European Commission signs off on full UK participation, withheld over disputes about the Brexit deal¡¯s Northern Ireland Protocol.?

The guarantee was?extended in March 2022 to cover any Horizon grant agreements ¡°expected to be signed¡±?before the end of the year but now covers EU funding calls closing on or before 31 December.?

Joanna Burton, policy manager at the Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities said that the latest extension would give researchers ¡°welcome reassurance¡± that they can continue to apply and ¡°plug the gap while keeping the window for UK association open¡±.

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, UK Research and Innovation said it had made?202?funding offers under the scheme, less than a third of the 609 verified applications it has received from UK-based Horizon winners, equivalent to ?142 million out of the ?348 million requested.

The second extension comes less than a fortnight after the government opened a legal dispute with the EU over its exclusion from Horizon, which has gone on for a year and a half.?

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Under the rules of the Brexit deal, politicians from the two sides have until mid-September to find an agreement before the dispute is handed to an arbitration panel.?

¡°We hope the formal consultations process will see constructive engagement from the EU so we can find a solution that will unlock the enormous benefits of UK association to scientists and researchers on both sides of the channel,¡± said?Ms Burton.

, Simon Usherwood, a politics professor at the Open University and chair of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies, said that the second extension was ¡°Better than nothing, but still a long way from being as good as actual association to Horizon Europe¡±.

As well as guaranteeing funding and trying to push for an agreement, in July the UK government sketched out its domestic alternative to the €95.5 billion (?87.6 billion) programme.?

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UK business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that a ¡°talent and research stabilisation fund¡± would use ¡°formula funding¡± to support UK institutions?¡°most affected by the loss of Horizon Europe talent funding¡±.?

Mr Kwarteng?added that ¡°temporary transitional measures¡± would be needed until either the UK was either admitted to Horizon or launched its own ¡°ambitious alternative¡±.?

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com