The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is a ministerial department of the

government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a cabinet reshuffle under the Rishi Sunak premiership. The department took on policy responsibilities from the former

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...

(BEIS) and the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...

. 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, supported by a number of junior ministers, and senior civil servants. The incumbent secretary of state is Peter Kyle.

History

The department was established on 7 February 2023 after a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

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

(BEIS) and the 'Digital' portfolio from the former

(DCMS). The new department's first Secretary of State,

Michelle Donelan Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology from July 2023 to July 2024, having previously served in the position from February to ...

, 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 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

), the Office for Life Sciences (jointly with the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

(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 The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

and schools at the forefront of innovation, championing new ways of working (with an express focus on STEM 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 t ...

, 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 new digital and data laws. DSIT is also responsible for leading the UK Government's pro-innovation approach to regulating AI.

Ministers

The Department's ministerial team is as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold: The department's ministers are supported by the department's civil servants under the leadership of a

Permanent Secretary A permanent 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 activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

. The incumbent Permanent Secretary is Sarah Munby; 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. They are also the head of the Government Office for Science. Many indiv ...

is also attached to the department, and holds the rank of Permanent Secretary. The incumbent Chief Scientific Adviser is Dame Angela McLean. The National Technology Advisor is also based within the department.

Agencies and public bodies

The following agencies and public bodies are sponsored by DSIT.

Executive agencies

* Building Digital UK * Intellectual Property Office *

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

UK Space Agency The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's British space programme, civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the Britis ...

Executive non-departmental public bodies

* Advanced Research and Invention Agency *

Information Commissioner's Office The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is the independent regu ...

* UK Research and Innovation

Tribunals

* Copyright Tribunal

Public corporations

* National Physical Laboratory *

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

Other

* British Technology Investments * Government Digital Service * Government Office for Science *

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

* Regulatory Horizons Council * UK Shared Business Services

Former

* Central Digital and Data Office * Incubator for Artificial Intelligence * Phone-paid Services Authority

References

External links

*
''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 Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Innovation in the United Kingdom Ministries established in 2023

Science policy in the United Kingdom Science, Innovation and Technology