UK tech leaders warn Burnham against breaking up DSIT
Reported plans to split up the UK tech department have drawn criticism from startup, investor and AI policy figures who say a reorg would slow execution.
By Ingrid Halvorsen · Venture Capital Reporter
· 3 min read
Incoming UK prime minister Andy Burnham is facing pushback from technology executives and policy figures over reported plans to dismantle the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The fight matters because DSIT has become the central Whitehall owner for AI, digital regulation and science policy, and the sector is warning that another government reshuffle would slow work already in flight.
The Financial Times reported that Burnham, who is set to be appointed prime minister on Monday, is weighing a reorganisation that would move parts of DSIT into a strengthened business department and send other functions to different parts of government. The same report said Jonathan Reynolds is expected to return as business secretary, with science policy potentially moved into his department’s remit.
No budget figures, headcount changes or implementation timetable have been disclosed in the reporting. That absence matters for founders and investors because the practical cost of a machinery-of-government change is measured less in press releases than in delayed decisions, staff churn and unclear ministerial ownership.
Tech figures say the timing is the problem
Vinous Ali, deputy executive director at Startup Coalition, argued on X that DSIT has become established after three years and that changing the structure would undercut that work. She said the department is moving from strategy into delivery on areas including compute and online safety, and described a reorganisation as a major distraction.
Ian Hogarth, a partner at Plural and chair of the UK’s AI Security Institute, also criticised the reported plan on X. He wrote that restructurings of this kind can distract departments for roughly a year, adding that civil servants focused on impact may leave if their time is consumed by internal reorganisation.
Matt Clifford, a former government AI adviser, called the reported move a “big mistake” on X. Clifford said science and technology are now central to both economic policy and national security, and argued that senior officials should be spending their time on delivery rather than departmental redesign.
Why DSIT has become a flashpoint
DSIT was created in 2023 by former prime minister Rishi Sunak to bring science, AI, innovation and digital regulation into one department. Since then, it has overseen the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, public investment in sovereign AI compute and the expansion of the AI Security Institute.
That portfolio gives DSIT unusual relevance for the technology industry. Compute policy affects AI labs and infrastructure buyers. Online safety policy affects platforms and consumer startups. AI security policy affects model developers, investors and companies selling into regulated sectors. Splitting those responsibilities would change who the industry has to lobby, sell to and hold accountable.
The criticism so far is not a defence of every DSIT policy. It is a warning about execution risk. Burnham’s reported plan would land at a time when the UK is trying to convert AI strategy into procurement, infrastructure and regulation. For the sector, the concern is that moving boxes around Whitehall could consume the attention needed to make those calls.
This story draws on original reporting from Sifted.
