The Government could face a bill of up to £2.2 billion to meet its pledge to match EU funding committed to research projects in the UK.

New figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have revealed the amount of money awarded to universities, research groups and businesses through the Horizon 2020 programme.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in August that the Government would underwrite all payments agreed under the scheme, which covers the period 2014-20.

Of the total £2.21 billion in grants that the European Commission has so far announced, £1.4 billion have been awarded to educational bodies such as universities, while £473 million have gone to private companies.

The remaining money has been earmarked for research organisations (£203 million), other public bodies (£74 million) and smaller groups (£34 million).

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Organisations based in London have been pledged the most money (£532 million), followed by those in south-east England (£359 million), eastern England (£265 million) and Scotland (£248 million).

Among the higher education organisations to have participated in the scheme, the University of Cambridge has been awarded the largest amount (£137 million), followed by University College London (£122 million) and the University of Oxford (£114 million).

All the figures are correct as of September 30 2016, but as UK organisations can continue to bid for funding from the Horizon 2020 scheme, it is likely the total amount will rise further.

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The Treasury has stated it intends to underwrite funding of all awards made under the scheme while the UK is still a member of the EU.

They have also said this will apply even when specific projects continue beyond the UK's departure from the union.

Groups applying for Horizon 2020 funding must be part of a consortium that is typically made up of at least three organisations from different countries.

Grants are available for projects that cover a variety of areas, including new technologies, tackling the challenges of climate change or food security, and space exploration.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee last month called for a clear statement from the Government exempting EU scientists already employed in the UK from wider immigration controls.

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Committee chairman Stephen Metcalfe 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."