The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

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. Established in February 2023, DSIT took on policy responsibilities from the former

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prime ...

(BEIS) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The new department is responsible for helping to encourage, develop and manage the UK's scientific, research, and technological outputs. DSIT is also responsible for managing the necessary physical and digital infrastructure and regulation to support the British economy, UK public services, national security, and wider UK Government priorities. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. The department is led by the

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, is a Secretary of State in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The incumbent is a member of the Cab ...

, supported by a number of junior ministers, and senior civil servants. The incumbent Secretary of State is

Michelle Donelan Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2022. She previously served as Minister of State for Higher and Further Ed ...

; she is the first to hold the role, having previously been the final

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...

History

The department was established on 7 February 2023 after a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

by Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

. It absorbed some of the functions and responsibilities of the former

(BEIS) and the 'Digital' portfolio from the former Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The new department's first Secretary of State,

, was the final Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Additionally, the new department became responsible for a number of agencies and offices drawn from across the rest of the UK Government. These included the Government Office for Science (formerly under BEIS), the Office for Science and Technology Strategy (formerly of the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

), the Office for Life Sciences (jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), formerly a BEIS-DHSC joint unit) and the Office for Artificial Intelligence (formerly of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport).

Responsibilities

The following responsibilities of DSIT were outlined by

upon the department's establishment in 2023.

Research and innovation

DSIT is responsible for positioning the UK at the forefront of global scientific and technological advancement. It is intended for the department to drive innovation that changes lives and sustains economic growth. It will do this by maintaining and developing the physical and digital infrastructure and regulation necessary to support the UK economy and public services, and UK national security. Another stated responsibility of the department is to put British public services, including the NHS and schools at the forefront of innovation, championing new ways of working (with an express focus on

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

subjects to improve outcomes for people. DSIT is further responsible for managing the UK Government's Research and Development schemes, aiming to optimise public investment to support areas of relative UK strength and increase the level of private investment in an effort to make the UK economy the "most innovative" in the world. Moreover, DSIT is charged with promoting a diverse research and innovation system that connects discovery to new companies, growth and jobs – including by delivering world-class physical and digital infrastructure. This is with the professed intention of making the UK the "best place" to start and grow a technology business or to develop and attract "top talent." DSIT also functions as a means of strengthening international collaboration on science and technology in line with the findings of the 2021

Integrated Review The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, often known as the Integrated Review, and titled as ''Global Britain in a Competitive Age'', was a review carried out by the British government led by Boris Johnson into th ...

, and to ensure that British researchers are able to continue to work with leading scientists in Europe and around the world.

Legislation and regulation

On a legislative and regulatory level, DSIT is responsible for delivering key legislative and regulatory reforms to drive competition and promote innovation. This includes completing the passage of a new Online Safety Bill, a new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill and a new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. DSIT is also responsible for leading the UK Government's pro-innovation approach to regulating AI.

Ministers

The Department's ministerial team in February 2023 consisted of: The department's ministers are supported by the department's civil servants under the leadership of a

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

. The incumbent Permanent Secretary is

Sarah Munby Sarah Munby (born 1982) is a British civil servant who has served as permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since July 2020. Early life Sarah Munby was born in 1982. As a schoolgirl, she placed 7th ...

; previously the final Permanent Secretary at the now defunct

. The

Government Chief Scientific Adviser The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Advi ...

is also attached to the department, and holds the rank of Permanent Secretary. The incumbent Chief Scientific Adviser (until April 2023) is Sir

Patrick Vallance Sir Patrick John Thompson Vallance (born 17 March 1960) is a British physician, scientist, and clinical pharmacologist who has worked in both academia and industry. He has served as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (United Kingdom), Chie ...

. His successor in this role from April 2023 will be Dame

Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replace ...

References

External links

Official webpage
on

GOV.UK gov.uk (styled on the site as GOV.UK) is a United Kingdom public sector information website, created by the Government Digital Service to provide a single point of access to HM Government services. The site launched as a beta on 31 January 2012, ...

.
''Making Government Deliver: Updating the machinery of government for the world of today and of tomorrow''
policy paper forwarded by

explaining the rationale for the department. {{Departments of the United Kingdom Government, type=Ministerial, title=Science, Innovation and Technology 2023 establishments in the United Kingdom Innovation ministries Research ministries Innovation in the United Kingdom Ministries established in 2023 Science and technology ministries Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom