Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

100 Parliament Street, Westminster
Department overview
Formed	7 February 2023 (2023-02-07)
Preceding agencies	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Type	UK Government Department
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Secretary of State responsible	Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Department executives	Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary Dame Angela McLean, Government Chief Scientific Adviser
Child agencies	Advanced Research and Invention Agency UK Space Agency Intellectual Property Office Building Digital UK Met Office UK Research and Innovation Ordnance Survey Council for Science and Technology Government Office for Science Regulatory Horizons Council National Physical Laboratory Copyright Tribunal Information Commissioner's Office
Website	gov.uk/dsit

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Constitution Magna Carta Bill of Rights Treaty of Union (Acts of Union) Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Separation of powers Other constitutional principles
The Crown The Monarch (list) King Charles III Heir apparent William, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Executive Privy Council Charles III (King-in-Council) HM Government Cabinet (list) Starmer ministry (L) Prime Minister (list) Keir Starmer (L) Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (L) Departments Ministers Agencies
Legislature UK Parliament (King-in-Parliament) King Charles III House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch (C) 59th Parliament Opposition MPs List of MPs
Judiciary Charles III (King-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Deputy governors Monetary Policy Committee Currencies Banknotes Coins
Elections and referendums UK Parliament constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions Senedd constituencies and electoral regions UK general elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 European Parliament elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next Northern Ireland Assembly elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 2022 Next Senedd elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next UK referendums 1975 2011 2016
Devolution Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom Legislative consent motions Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council Council of the Nations and Regions England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Michelle O'Neill deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland Scotland Scottish devolution 1997 referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister John Swinney Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law Wales Welsh devolution 1997 referendum (2011 referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Eluned Morgan Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey (Guernsey Alderney Sark) Bailiwick of Jersey Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area UK-CD Customs Union
Overseas Territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Saint Helena Ascension Island Tristan da Cunha) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 UK-OT JMC Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK passport British National (Overseas) passport Visa requirements UK–CD Customs Union Visa policy Free trade agreements Australia Barbados Belgium Belize Brunei Canada China Hong Kong Cyprus Denmark France Germany India Israel Italy Japan Kenya Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Spain South Africa Palestine Pakistan Poland Portugal United States Zimbabwe Ireland politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Northern Ireland Protocol British–Irish Council European Union (history) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth member states United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other countries
v t e

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)^[1] is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. 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 (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.^[2]

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.

The department was established on 7 February 2023 after a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It absorbed some of the functions and responsibilities of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the 'Digital' portfolio from the former Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The new department's first Secretary of State, Michelle Donelan, 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 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).^[3]

The following responsibilities of DSIT were outlined by Rishi Sunak upon the department's establishment in 2023.

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.^[2]

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 subjects to improve outcomes for people.^[2]

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, and to ensure that British researchers are able to continue to work with leading scientists in Europe and around the world.^[2]

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.^[2]

The Department's ministerial team is as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:^[4][5]

Minister	Portrait	Office	Portfolio
Peter Kyle MP		Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology	The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Online Safety Act 2023 oversight of science and technology economic and national security skills and talent landscape review research bureaucracy regulation overall R&D budget Horizon Europe Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) relationship OneWeb shareholding British Technology Investments Ltd
Lord Vallance of Balham		Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation	Domestic science and research ecosystem, including Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) International science and research, including space science Horizon Europe R&D Life sciences Quantum, engineering biology and semiconductors Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Tech and innovation across the missions Regulatory Innovation Office
Sir Chris Bryant MP		Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms	Digital infrastructure and telecoms Building Digital UK (BDUK) Data protection (including Data Bill) Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Digital inclusion Space sector growth and UK Space Agency (UKSA)
Feryal Clark MP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government	AI Safety Institute AI transparency and ethics AI regulation AI opportunities Large scale compute review Cybersecurity Digital public services Digital Centre of Government Digital identity policy   Copyright Tribunal Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Corporate Minister
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety	Online safety and counter-disinformation Digital Markets Unit Tech policy and market facing technology, including skills National Data Library International strategy, including electronic trade Economic security Technology diffusion Technology investment National security and resilience Geospatial Commission

The department's ministers are supported by the department's civil servants under the leadership of a Permanent Secretary. The incumbent Permanent Secretary is Sarah Munby; previously the final Permanent Secretary at the now defunct Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.^[6]

The Government Chief Scientific Adviser is also attached to the department, and holds the rank of Permanent Secretary. The incumbent Chief Scientific Adviser is Dame Angela McLean.^[7] The National Technology Advisor is also based within the department.

The following agencies and public bodies are sponsored by DSIT.^[8]

• Building Digital UK
• Intellectual Property Office
• Met Office
• UK Space Agency

• Advanced Research and Invention Agency
• Information Commissioner's Office
• UK Research and Innovation

• Copyright Tribunal

• National Physical Laboratory
• Ordnance Survey

• British Technology Investments
• Central Digital and Data Office
• Incubator for Artificial Intelligence
• Government Digital Service
• Government Office for Science
• Ofcom
• Phone-paid Services Authority
• Regulatory Horizons Council
• UK Shared Business Services

• Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2017–2023) – from which DSIT absorbed the digital portfolio.
• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2016–2023) – defunct department from which DSIT inherited various responsibilities
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (2007–2009) – a defunct UK government department with a similar overall purpose.
• Ministry of Technology (1964–1970) – an historic UK government department with similar responsibilities.
• Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (1915–1965) – an historic UK government department with similar responsibilities.

• Official webpage on GOV.UK.
• Making Government Deliver: Updating the machinery of government for the world of today and of tomorrow policy paper forwarded by Rishi Sunak explaining the rationale for the department.