Tech leaders warn against weakening UK digital leadership

Technology leaders have raised concerns over reports that incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a wider Whitehall reorganisation. The reported changes would redistribute DSIT functions across government, create a Minister for AI, and halt the rollout of digital identity credentials and GOV.UK Wallet, though the proposals have not been formally announced.

James Cobb, CEO and founder of Crowd Connected, said scrapping DSIT while appointing an AI minister would send the wrong signal about the UK’s technology ambitions. He argued that AI policy needs institutional backing and that the government should focus first on practical adoption in hospitals, campuses, councils and small businesses, where productivity gains are more immediate.

Other digital government figures warned that another machinery of government change could disrupt momentum in public sector reform. SolarWinds executive Rich Giblin pointed to initiatives including the AI Safety Institute and the Sovereign AI Fund, while Government Digital Service co-founder Tom Loosemore said moving GDS into the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could weaken common platforms such as GOV.UK One Login, GOV.UK Notify and GOV.UK Pay.