AI: Economic Opportunities and Security

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Healey)]

Artificial intelligence is an age-defining technological change. The Government will ensure that AI is a force for good, strengthening the UK’s security and resilience and protecting it against emerging threats. This will ensure that the UK can shape the change that AI will bring, seize the opportunities it presents, and not be left vulnerable or dependent on other countries.

The economic opportunities from AI will only be realised if our critical infrastructure, public services and businesses are resilient to emerging threats. The Government will invest £165 million in a new national AI biosecurity initiative, including £100 million for an AI biosecurity lab and £65 million to strengthen bio-surveillance and develop medical countermeasures.

We will provide an additional £120 million for the AI Security Institute to strengthen its testing and research and develop technical standards to help mitigate AI risks. We will also invest £60 million in a national cyber-shield, including a £25 million challenge fund for UK AI and cyber-security innovators, and establish a £70 million national exposure and real-time vulnerability centre to identify cyber-vulnerabilities across our critical infrastructure and economy. A further £24 million investment will support the systematic hardening of the public sector technology estate.

Alongside protecting against emerging risks, the Government will strengthen the capabilities needed to ensure that Britain can shape its own economic future. We will provide an additional £60 million for the sovereign AI fund to invest in promising UK AI companies, including a new focus on physical and industrial AI; a further £60 million for the sovereign AI R&D procurement scheme; and £18 million for a new UK advanced chip design academy to strengthen advanced chip design capability.

Every part of the country must be able to benefit from AI. We will start by piloting local AI partnerships with mayoral strategic authorities, bringing together local leaders, businesses and education providers to pursue locally-led approaches to AI adoption. We will provide £15 million for an AI challenge prize to incentivise innovators to develop AI solutions to frontline public service challenges, with a first year’s focus on health, and £10 million per year for the AI Economics Institute to lead the UK’s work in understanding the evidence on AI’s impact on productivity, growth, jobs and living standards. The Government will also establish a new AI cyber-security centre of excellence in Manchester to train the next generation of cyber and AI experts.

Together, these measures will strengthen Britain’s security and resilience, build domestic capability and help ensure that people across the country benefit from AI.

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