Britain’s technology remit shifts from a dedicated minister to four departments

Science and AI responsibilities redistributed across four departments

The report describes a Whitehall reshuffle following Andy Burnham's arrival as UK prime minister.

It says the dedicated technology ministerial role was eliminated and that responsibility for science and technology is now spread across four departments. A joint Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade role was assigned to Minister of State for AI Kanishka Narayan, while other responsibilities, including digital government and space, were placed in other portfolios.

A dedicated technology ministerial role and a standalone Department for Science, Innovation and Technology handled the technology brief.

The dedicated technology ministerial role was reportedly removed, with science, AI, digital government, space, and related responsibilities redistributed across four departments and joint posts.

The report describes a change in which departments and ministers own these responsibilities. Its focus is an institutional shift from a dedicated technology brief to departmental and joint roles.