EU Third Health Programme (Health for Growth) funding if there's a no-deal Brexit
Updated 8 August 2019
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Introduction
This guidance provides information on the EU Third Health Programme (Health for Growth) guarantee and extension to the guarantee.
It is aimed at UK organisations such as universities and businesses that currently receive EU Third Health Programme funding or are bidding for funding. It will also be of interest to EU organisations who work with UK participants on the EU Third Health Programme.
The EU Third Health Programme is funded from the EU budget, to which the UK is a net contributor. It funds project that:
- promote health
- protect from serious cross-border health threats
- support public health capacity building
- facilitate access to better and safer healthcare
The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) manages the funding and programme and puts in place the necessary grant agreements.
Funding for projects if there’s a no-deal Brexit
Organisations, universities and businesses may be unable to access funding for the EU Third Health Programme if there’s a no-deal Brexit. However, the government has guaranteed funding for competitively bid EU projects submitted before we leave the EU, including EU Third Health Programme projects.
The government’s guarantee and extension means UK organisations, universities and businesses that receive Third Health Programme grant awards can continue take part in projects if there’s a no-deal Brexit, subject to eligibility for participation in that project.
What the guarantee and extension covers
The government’s guarantee covers all successful bids submitted by UK participants before the UK leaves the EU, for the full duration of the projects.
The guarantee was extended to cover funding for successful bids where UK organisations can participate as a third country in competitive EU grant programmes.
This extension runs from exit day until the end of 2020. The government is seeking discussions with the European Commission to agree the details of our continued participation as a third country.
Any Third Health Programme grant awards to UK organisations, universities and businesses which are not honoured in full by the European Commission or Chafea will be covered by the government’s guarantee. Similar conditions and certification requirements will apply as with the Third Health Programme grant agreements.
This will be subject to UK organisations, universities and businesses sharing their EU grant agreements with the Department of Health and Social Care so we can assess if specific powers need to be introduced to enable payment of the awards in place of the Third Health Programme grant awards. This includes EU grant awards to UK organisations in the devolved administrations.
What organisations that receive funding from the Third Health Programme need to do
The Department of Health and Social Care will contact known project developers if the government’s guarantee needs to be put into effect.
If your organisation receives funding and has not been contacted by the department, you should read the guidance for UK recipients of EU Direct Bid funds and submit information about the funding you receive.
Funding not covered by the guarantee
The guarantee does not cover funding for organisations from other countries who are in consortia UK participants – only the funding for UK participants is covered.
UK participants leading a consortium
There are some cases where UK participants lead a consortium and are responsible for distributing funding to the other participants.
The government is seeking to discuss with the European Commission how this could best be addressed if there is a no-deal Brexit.