UK to dismantle DSIT and shift digital government remit to DCMS

The UK government is dismantling the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology after roughly two years, splitting responsibility for digital government and tech industry policy across other Whitehall departments. The change matters for public-sector technology delivery because the Government Digital Service and Central Digital and Data Office had only recently been moved into DSIT after Labour took office in 2024.

Science Secretary Liz Kendall has been removed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and DSIT’s functions are being redistributed. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is expected to become the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reports indicating that it will take on digital transformation work previously housed in DSIT.

That would likely make DCMS the next home for GDS and the Central Digital and Data Office, according to The Register. Both units were shifted from the Cabinet Office into DSIT under the Labour government, putting central digital strategy, performance oversight and data policy under the science and technology department.

GDS sets digital strategy for government and monitors digital performance across departments. Eighteen months after moving to DSIT, it published a roadmap for modern digital government that said the state would use AI for public benefit, strengthen digital public infrastructure and redesign online services for citizens and businesses through common standards and cross-government work.

The government has not yet shown how that ambition will be delivered in practice, according to a recent select committee report. The committee said ministers had set out an intention to make the UK “a truly digital state,” but had not explained in detail what that means or produced a clear plan to turn the vision into delivery.

The reorganization also lands while DSIT has been overseeing Matrix, a shared services program intended to move nine government organizations onto common ERP and HR systems built on Workday technology. The program was recently rated “red” in a government major projects report, a status used for initiatives with serious problems in schedule, budget, quality or expected benefits where the issues are not considered manageable or resolvable at that stage.

For suppliers and public-sector technology teams, the immediate risk is execution drag rather than a change in stated policy. Departmental reshuffles can reset reporting lines, budget ownership and ministerial accountability, even when the underlying platforms and contracts remain the same. The government has not disclosed what the shift means for GDS leadership, Matrix governance or delivery milestones.

DSIT’s role as the government’s main interface with the technology industry will also move. Those responsibilities are set to go to the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, led by Jonathan Reynolds as secretary of state.

Kanishka Narayan has been promoted to a Cabinet-attending post as Minister for Artificial Intelligence, working jointly across the Cabinet Office and BIST. The Register said it had contacted the Cabinet Office, DSIT and DCMS for clarification on the new division of responsibilities.

This story draws on original reporting from The Register.