Ministers at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have taken on responsibility for government’s core digital agencies, and will also oversee a new plan of action for using AI

Government’s core digital agencies have completed their initial move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – which will also be home to a newly created ‘AI Opportunities Unit’.

In a recent written parliamentary statement, prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the Government Digital Service, Central Digital and Data Office, and Incubator for Artificial Intelligence have all moved from the Cabinet Office to DSIT. The units will all now report to new ministers, with Feryal Clark, the newly appointed parliamentary under secretary of state for AI and digital government, set to take the lead in overseeing their work.

Starmer said that the departmental shake-up, which was first announced a few days after the general election, will provide a single hub for technology operations and policy covering both government and industry – but that the former home of GDS and CDDO will continue to play a role in its work.

“This change will embed the delivery of digital services and levers to drive public and private sector innovation within a single department,” the prime minister added. “Working closely with the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will be the digital centre of government.”

GDS, which was established in 2011, is responsible for developing and maintaining a range of cross-government digital tools, including the GOV.UK website, as well as GOV.UK One Login, Forms, Notify and Pay, and govermment’s Emergency Alerts Service. Sister agency CDDO was, effectively, spun out of GDS in 2021to take on the remit of directing cross-government strategy and sitting at the head of the digital and data profession, as well as enforcing standards and controls. GDS employs about 750 people, while CDDO has around 200 staff.

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The Incubator for Artificial Intelligence – typically referred to as i.AI – was launched in November 2023 “to help departments harness the potential AI”. The unit started with 30 employees and plans to recruit a further 40 were announced earlier this year.

The three tech units will be joined in their new department by the AI Opportunities Unit, which has been created as a dedicated unit to oversee the delivery of an action plan that DSIT has commissioned. The aim of the plan is identifying ways in which government could support the development of AI that could enable improved public services or new products.

Matt Clifford, a tech entrepreneur and chair of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency – government’s high-end research-and-development unit – will oversee the creation of the action plan.

Clifford, who also co-led the international AI Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park last year, has been tasked with providing recommendations to DSIT secretary of state Peter Kyle within the next two months. Clifford’s work during this time will be supported by DSIT officials, who will help to identify and address any potential conflicts of interest that may arise, the department said.

Kyle said: “We’re putting AI at the heart of the government’s agenda to boost growth and improve our public services. Matt Clifford brings a wealth of experience and shares my ambition when it comes to realising the opportunities of AI, using it to drive growth and improve people’s lives. Together we will use AI to drive productivity and economic growth in every part of the country so we can make everyone better off.”