Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on the legal status of foreign scientific researchers resident in the UK following the EU referendum.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the European Union has engaged with a wide range of organisations including Universities UK, the Royal Academies and the pharmaceutical sector, as well as colleagues from the Department for Education and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The Prime Minister has been clear that she is determined to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return.

The UK remains fully open to scientists and researchers from across the EU. We highly value the contribution of EU and international staff, and there are no immediate changes to their rights to live and work in the UK.

The announcement on underwriting Horizon 2020 funding underlines our commitment to do what is necessary to maintain the UK as an attractive place to conduct research and innovation.