The UK’s first department for science could face an uncertain future under a Labour government whose green investment plans will require closer ties between civil servants responsible for research and economic growth, sector experts have predicted.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established in February 2023 when staff from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy combined with colleagues from the former Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, under the leadership of former universities minister Michelle Donelan.
Her Cabinet-level position raised hopes that science would have a stronger voice in 10 Downing Street, but some researchers have complained privately that ministerial attentions have been largely concentrated on regulation of emerging technologies, including the passing of the Online Safety Bill, as well as preparation for the world’s first AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park.
Asked in November about the department’s first year, the UK’s chief scientific adviser Dame Angela McLean said that it “has been very focused” on artificial intelligence and agreed its attention “needs to broaden out on all kinds of science and technology”.
