As the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, I am responsible for accelerating innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science for the benefit of UK citizens.
More directly: I lead the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), where we research, use and invest in science and technology to transform the UK.
At DSIT, our priorities are to:
1. Accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.
2. Use technology for good by ensuring that new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.
3. Drive forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.
My most talked-about endeavour as the head of this department is to lead the country’s mission to become a world-leader in AI. This means embracing new technologies.
In January 2025, I launched the AI Opportunity Action Plan, our plan to make the UK a global leader in AI. We will act on the 50 recommendations brought forward by British entrepreneur Matt Clifford, commissioned by myself. As a part of this, we will create a series of AI “growth zones”, starting in Culham, Oxfordshire, where approval planning for data centres will be accelerated and access to the energy grid improved.
The plan also includes a pledge to build a new supercomputer and increase the UK’s compute capacity 20-fold by 2030, which will increase our technological might, as well as attract further investment.
A key part of my work involves collaborating with other departments, steering the technology that is at the heart of the government’s ‘Plan For Change’. My colleague Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero) and I have launched the AI Energy Council, sitting round the table with representatives from companies such as Microsoft, Google and National Grid. Together, we are working at the intersection of AI and clean energy to drive forward the economy whilst committing to our Clean Power 2030 action plan.
I am delighted to hold this role, and look forward our future of innovating for the benefit of the UK.
You can read more about my work at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology