Tech leaders warn Burnham against plans to scrap DSIT
Move would see tech reorganised into catch-all business department
Technology leaders, politicians and industry groups have voiced concern over reported plans by Andy Burnham's team to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Update 10:25 21st July 2026: It has now been confirmed that DSIT will be merged with the Department for Business and Trade to form the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Original story continues below:
According to reports, officials have been asked to prepare options for dismantling the Department as part of a broader overhaul of government, although no final decision has been taken.
The proposal has prompted criticism from MPs, advisers and business organisations, who say restructuring responsibility for the tech sector at a crucial stage for AI policy risks delaying progress and creating uncertainty.
Rishi Sunak’s government created DSIT in 2023 to consolidate responsibility for science, innovation, digital policy and AI under a single cabinet minister.
The Department has led several flagship initiatives since then, including the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the AI Security Institute, the £500m Sovereign AI Fund and oversight of UK Research and Innovation.
Fears of disruption during AI race
Critics argue that dismantling DSIT would divert officials from key policy priorities, just as countries around the world intensify competition over AI development and investment.
Matt Clifford, who has advised both outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on AI, described the reported proposal as "a big mistake."
Clifford warned that reorganising senior science and technology teams would consume valuable time at a moment when AI has become both an economic and national security priority.
One Labour MP is said to have characterised the move as "getting rid of the Department of the future."
Under the reported plans, many of DSIT's responsibilities would move into an expanded business department led by Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds, while oversight of AI use across the public sector would shift to Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo rather than remaining under a dedicated minister.
Slow policymaking
Industry groups have warned that months of administrative restructuring could slow policymaking just as Britain seeks to strengthen its position against the United States, China and Europe in the race to commercialise AI technologies.
Business organisations say abolishing DSIT would remove a dedicated voice for technology at the centre of government.
In a joint letter to Burnham, techUK and the Startup Coalition described the reported proposal as "the wrong change at the wrong time."
Dom Hallas, executive director of the Startup Coalition, also warned that folding technology into a larger business department could reduce the sector's prominence.
He argued that a "mega" business department would leave British technology firms competing with industries such as steel for ministerial attention while spending months reorganising government structures instead of delivering policy.
Russ Shaw CBE, founder of Global Tech Advocates and Tech London Advocates, said dismantling DSIT would be "a significant mistake at exactly the wrong moment for the UK economy."
He said Britain's technology sector had grown into the world's third largest because government and industry had worked together while ensuring technology maintained a clear voice at the highest levels of policymaking.
"As countries around the world accelerate investment in AI and emerging technologies, the UK should be strengthening that commitment, not creating uncertainty through government reorganisation," Shaw noted.
"Our tech businesses are driving growth, attracting investment and creating jobs across the country. They need continuity, certainty and clear leadership from government, not a structural distraction that risks slowing momentum just as global competition for technology leadership is intensifying," he added.
Computing says:
DSIT was one of the Conservatives’ few wins that affected the tech sector – moving responsibility out of the unfocused Department for Culture, Media and Sport and into its own dedicated Department. With that in mind, is reshuffling tech into another catch-all office a move we should welcome?
There are two sides to the argument. The case against: constant reshuffling of ministerial posts in government (though we applaud Burnham’s retention of Kanishka Narayan as the government’s AI lead, as well as making Minister for AI a Cabinet-level position) has created confusion among civil servants and lack of direction in policy making. To see the same mentality applied to entire industries would not be an auspicious start to Burnham’s leadership.
On the other hand, IT leaders often talk to us about the importance of business- rather than tech-led solutions. Bringing tech and business closer in government could indicate the importance of that approach.