The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will be abolished as part of a major Whitehall reorganization, with its responsibilities absorbed by the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), while artificial intelligence (AI) will have a seat at the cabinet table for the first time.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed the changes were part of a wider scheme of government restructuring, ending the independent department created in 2023 to put science and technology at the heart of government.
Under the new structure, Jonathan Reynolds will lead DBIST, which brings together responsibilities for business, innovation, science, trade and technology.
AI policy and public sector AI implementation will move to the Cabinet Office, with Kanishka Narayan appointed as Minister for Artificial Intelligence, with responsibility for the Cabinet Office and DBIST. He will sit in the Cabinet and become the first AI representative at that level of government.
The end of independent technology departments
DSIT was established by former chancellor Rishi Sunak in February 2023, bringing together technology, digital, science and innovation responsibilities across Whitehall. The department was established to strengthen the UK’s focus on science and technology and accelerate innovation and digital transformation across government.
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Its functions will be distributed across government, technology policy will be incorporated into DBIST, and responsibility for AI will move to the Cabinet Office. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will be renamed the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DDCMS) and will be responsible for digital government functions, including the Government Digital Service (GDS).
Increasing the sophistication of AI within government
Mr. Narayan was appointed as Minister for AI and Online Safety in September 2025. In my new role as Minister for Artificial Intelligence, I will be jointly responsible for the Cabinet Office and DBIST while sitting in Cabinet.
The appointment comes as the government continues to position AI as a key driver of economic growth and public service reform, moving responsibility for AI policy and implementation closer to the center of government.
The reorganization comes after several days of speculation about the future of DSIT after reports emerged that it was to be merged back into a larger business-focused ministry.
