Prime minister Andy Burnham took two contradictory steps on his first day in office. He gave artificial intelligence its highest seat in British government history, while simultaneously abolishing the ministry built to deliver it.
Burnham appointed Kanishka Narayan as minister of state for artificial intelligence, with full cabinet attendance. In the same sweep, he scrapped the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which was created in 2023 to give technology a dedicated home at Whitehall’s core. Burnham folded its duties into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), led by business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The moves triggered immediate alarm across the technology and business sector, with industry leaders warning that Burnham handed the AI agenda a promotion while dismantling its operational engine beneath it, risking the UK’s commitment to Ai.
“Departmental reorganisations could create uncertainty at a crucial time and must not be allowed to stall the important work that had already been started by DSIT,” says Matt Harris, managing director UKIMEA at Hewlett Packard Enterprises, who welcomes the introduction of the cabinet seat but cautions against momentum loss.
Narayan holds his role jointly across the Cabinet Office and DBIST. Moving up from a junior ministerial post held under Keir Starmer, he now sits where the prime minister sets priorities. On LinkedIn, he outlined a vision for a reindustrialised Britain with stronger security, while acknowledging concerns over jobs. Born in Bihar, India, and educated at Eton, Oxford and Stanford, the former civil servant became MP for Vale of Glamorgan in July 2024.
Scale-ups don’t need Westminster to move quickly, they just need it to stop moving the goalposts
Narayan’s appointment offers potential for specific technical sectors. Dr Andy Sellars, director of strategy at silicon photonics foundry Cornerstone, highlights Narayan’s record on chip strategy and an earlier £10m semiconductor fund. Sellars says the appointment “has the potential to generate significant opportunities for the UK’s semiconductor industry,” noting that building AI hardware remains central to national ambitions.
DSIT anchored several strategic commitments. The AI Security Institute now moves to the Cabinet Office. The £500m (about $669m) Sovereign AI Fund, launched in April 2026 to invest in domestic firms such as Isomorphic Labs, sees governance split between DBIST and the Cabinet Office. UK Research and Innovation and the Government Digital Service also face fragmented reorganisation.
Tom Glason, chief executive at ScaleWise, believes constant restructuring damages growing businesses. “What founders and investors need from government now is continuity and stability, not another reorganisation to work around,” he says. “Scale-ups don’t need Westminster to move quickly, they just need it to stop moving the goalposts.”
History supports these industry concerns. Edward Heath created a similar super-ministry in 1970 with the Department of Trade and Industry. Research by the Institute for Government (IfG) found that subsequent administrations reversed these mega-departments due to operational complexity, as larger economic sectors crowded out smaller ones. The IfG estimates each new department costs at least £15m (about $20m) upfront, with lost productivity costing far more.
Ian Hogarth, chair of the AI Security Institute, warns that civil servants leave when faced with random reorganisations. Former AI adviser Matt Clifford calls the decision “a big mistake” that will waste valuable time. Outgoing science secretary Liz Kendall warned in January that the UK had two years to secure an AI foothold before missing its chance. Industry estimates suggest the reorganisation could consume six months of that window.
Downing Street argues that integrating DSIT functions embeds technology directly as an engine of economic growth. Reynolds says the shift brings technology closer to industrial policy, while Narayan promises to act “with pace” and “ambition” to secure British influence.
Unresolved questions remain regarding digital sovereignty and US Cloud Act exposure. Meanwhile, G7 peers France and Canada are consolidating AI strategies. Britain’s tech sector — valued at £1.2tn (about $1.6tn) and growing at 10% a year — now faces structural disruption at a pivotal moment.
Prime minister Andy Burnham took two contradictory steps on his first day in office. He gave artificial intelligence its highest seat in British government history, while simultaneously abolishing the ministry built to deliver it.
Burnham appointed Kanishka Narayan as minister of state for artificial intelligence, with full cabinet attendance. In the same sweep, he scrapped the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which was created in 2023 to give technology a dedicated home at Whitehall's core. Burnham folded its duties into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), led by business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The moves triggered immediate alarm across the technology and business sector, with industry leaders warning that Burnham handed the AI agenda a promotion while dismantling its operational engine beneath it, risking the UK’s commitment to Ai.
