Royal Society of Chemistry responds to House of Commons report on Leaving the EU
Today, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee published the final report from their inquiry into Leaving the EU: implications and opportunities for research.
The committee’s report identifies five key areas that the government must address to get the best outcome for science research. These are funding, people, collaboration, regulation and facilities. These issues have been championed across the science community and match our own priorities of funding, mobility and regulation, highlighted in our submission to the committee’s inquiry.
Our chief executive, Dr Robert Parker, commented: "As the committee’s report highlights, these priorities are closely interlinked and cannot be addressed in isolation from each other. The government needs to develop a comprehensive plan to address them together, so that science can continue to advance knowledge, foster growth and tackle global challenges.’
"We welcome the committee’s call for science to be at the heart of the Department for Exiting the EU’s planning for Brexit. By including science as a prominent part of the UK’s exit negotiations, the government can ensure that UK science continues to maximise its contributions to our future prosperity, including playing a full role in the UK’s forthcoming industrial strategy.
"We also support the recommendation for a commitment from government to raise the UK’s spending on research and development. A long-term plan for stable increased investment in science will help to strengthen the UK’s knowledge economy and to ensure that UK scientists can continue to contribute fully to the global scientific community."
Launching the report, Science and Technology Committee Chair, Stephen Metcalfe MP, said: "Uncertainty over Brexit threatens to undermine some of the UK’s ongoing international scientific collaborations.
"Telling EU scientists and researchers already working in the UK that they are allowed to stay is one way the Government could reduce that uncertainty right away."
Full report
You can download the rull report and read more from the committee on the Parliament website.