101 UK Brexit Notes

Connemara Programme October 16 2018 pg. 104 Project Funding: EU LIFE programme Purpose This notice sets out how UK organisations receiving funding under the EU LIFE programme would be affected if the UK leaves the EU with no deal in March 2019. It explains what this would mean for existing projects due to finish after 29 March 2019 and for organisations applying for projects funded after this date. Before 29 March 2019 The LIFE programme is an EU fund supporting environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects throughout the EU. It is funded and administered by the European Commission. The UK is currently a net contributor to the EU budget, and all EU funding is derived from funding by UK taxpayers. Currently, UK organisations submit bids directly to the LIFE fund on a competitive basis for a variety of projects focused on environmental and climate action. Projects usually last between three and five years, with funding paid by the European Commission in stages throughout the project. Project payments are currently made directly from the Commission to the organisation leading the project, with no involvement by the UK government. On average, five UK-led projects are awarded LIFE funding each year. In a negotiated scenario, UK-based organisations will be able to continue to participate in the LIFE programme until the end of 2020 as they do now, and successful projects agreed within this timeframe will be fully funded by the European Commission until they finish. We are considering how environmental projects can be best supported in future when the UK is no longer part of the European Union. After March 2019 if there’s no deal In the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no deal in place, the UK government has guaranteed to fund t he following:  LIFE project bids submitted by UK organisations and approved by the European Commission while we are still a member of the EU; and  LIFE funding due to UK organisations acting as partners in projects led by other Member States. This covers ongoing projects, and those awarded funding before the end of 2020. This means that, if required, the UK government would take over any remaining payments due to UK organisations involved in LIFE projects after March 2019, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of funding to these projects until they finish. Payments due to be made to project leads after 29 March 2019 may no longer come from the European Commission, and so would need to be made by the UK government via Defra and the relevant devolved administrations. Defra has contacted the small number of organisations in England leading LIFE projects due to be running after 29 March 2019 to request copies of project grant agreements, to inform contingency planning. Projects do not need to take any further action at present. The devolved administrations are making similar arrangements for projects where the lead partner is legally based within their countries. We are considering how environmental projects can be best supported in future when the UK is no longer part of the European Union. The guarantee does not cover funding for organisations from countries in consortia with UK participants – only the funding for UK participants is in scope. We are aware of some cases where UK participants lead a consortium and are responsible for distributing funding to the other participants; the UK government is seeking to discuss how this could best be addressed in a ‘no deal’ scenario with the European Commission.