The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is to be abolished as part of a major Whitehall reorganisation that will see its responsibilities absorbed into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), while artificial intelligence (AI) will gain representation at the Cabinet table for the first time.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed the changes as part of a wider machinery of government reshuffle, bringing to an end the standalone department established in 2023 to place science and technology at the centre of government.
Under the new structure, Jonathan Reynolds will lead DBIST, which brings together business, innovation, science, trade and technology responsibilities.
AI policy and public sector AI adoption will move into the Cabinet Office, with Kanishka Narayan appointed Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence jointly across the Cabinet Office and DBIST. He will attend Cabinet, giving AI representation at that level of government for the first time.
End of a standalone technology department
DSIT was created by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in February 2023 by bringing together technology, digital, science and innovation responsibilities from across Whitehall. The department was established to strengthen the UK’s focus on science and technology and to accelerate innovation and digital transformation across government.
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Its functions will now be distributed across government, with technology policy incorporated into DBIST while AI responsibilities 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), taking responsibility for digital government functions including the Government Digital Service (GDS).
AI elevated within government
Narayan was appointed Minister for AI and Online Safety in September 2025. In his new role as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, he will serve jointly across the Cabinet Office and DBIST while attending Cabinet.
The appointment comes as the government continues to position AI as a key driver of economic growth and public service reform, with responsibility for AI policy and adoption now sitting closer to the centre of government.
The restructuring follows several days of speculation over the future of DSIT after reports emerged that the department was set to be merged back into a larger business-focused ministry.
