Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

The movement in capital spending allocated to the Met Office reflected the latest plans for the delivery of the new supercomputer milestones.

Through AI Growth Zones we are ensuring that local communities benefit by providing £5 million for each AI Growth Zone to support skills and adoption in the area, and by ensuring that local authorities in England keep 100% of all business rates generated by sites where pre-existing arrangements do not exist.

The AI Growth Zones programme aims to crowd-in tens of billions of pounds in private investment and drive growth through job creation and by creating opportunities such as creating skills and apprenticeships pathways, R+D partnerships with local universities and creating investment opportunities for British businesses to participate in major AI projects.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.

On 4 December, Ofcom announced its largest online safety fine to date, a penalty of £1 million issued to a pornography provider for failing to have robust age verification checks in place. Further details on enforcement action are available on Ofcom’s website.

The department is developing the evidence base around children’s online safety, to ensure our policy response is informed by the best research.

As part of this, DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research on the impact of smartphones and social media on children. This six-month study considered methods to gather causal evidence of any impact and reviewed existing research. It was led by expert researchers from UK universities. We will publish the feasibility study report in due course.

Please see a list of all the Direct Ministerial Appointments (DMAs) in DSIT to date, including job title, renumeration, time commitment and expected end date.

Live Appointments:

• Matt Clifford: the Prime Minister’s AI Opportunities Advisor. 1 day per week, Term Dates: 13/01/2024 - 13/01/2026.
• Dr Dan Mahoney: Life Sciences Investment Envoy. 15 days per year, Term Dates:18/11/2024 - 18/05/2026.
• Theo Blackwell: Local Digital Champion. 2 days per week, Term Dates: 13/01/2025 - 31/12/2025.
• Yoshua Bengio: International AI Safety Report Chair. 26 days per year, Term Dates: 29/01/2025 - 31/03/2026.
• Lord David Willetts: Regulatory Innovation Office Chair. 36 days per year, Term Dates: 07/03/2025 - 07/03/2027
• Steve Bates: Office for Life Sciences Executive Chair. Full-time, Term Dates: 29/09/2025 - 29/03/2027.
• Anne Lingford-Hughes, Peter Johnson, Hilary Evans-Newton, Nadeem Sarwar, Husseini Manji, Kathryn Abel and Naveed Sattar: OLS Healthcare Goals Chairs, 4-8 days per month, Term Dates: 30/09/2025 - 05/03/2027 (DHSC appointments with joint accountability between DHSC, DSIT and DBT)
• Simon Johnson, Tom Blomfield and Raia Hadsell: AI Ambassadors. 2 days per year, Term Dates: 21/11/2025 - 21/11/2026.
• James Wise: Sovereign AI Champion, 10 days per year. Term Dates: 21/11/2025 - 21/11/2026.
• Anne Marie Imafidon: Women in Tech Envoy. 20 days per year, Term Dates: 15/12/2025 - 15/06/2027.
• Prof. Sir Jonathan Irving Bell: Life Sciences Champions, 30 days per year, Term Dates: 01/01/2011 - 31/122025
• Sir Jon Symonds: Life Sciences Champions, 30 days per year, Term Dates: 01/01/2021- 31/12/2025.

Appointments that have now ended

• Matt Clifford: Lead Reviewer of the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. 4-8 days per month, Term Dates: 22/07/2024 - 03/09/2024.
• Martha Lane Fox (Co-Chair), Poppy Gustafsson, Paul Willmott (Co-Chair), Jeni Tennison, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Lou Cordwell, Aaron Maniam, David Eaves, Sarah Hunter, Lisa Harrington, Josie Cluer and Lord Richard Allan: Digital Centre Design Panel Members. 1 day a month, Date: 30/09/2024 - 04/01/2025.
• Ian Hogarth: AI Safety Institute Chair. 10 days per year, Term Dates: 10/02/2025 - 09/12/2025.

Appointments made before July 2024 (publicly available information)

• David Morris: UK Government Space Advisor. 2022 to 2024.
• Simon Fell: Rural Connectivity Champion. 2023 to 2024.
• Hilary Evans: Co-Chair for Dementia Mission. 2023 to 2024.
• Nadeem Sarwar: Co-Chair for the Dementia Mission. 2023 to 2024.
• Stephen McPartland: Chair of the McPartland Review. 2024.
• Alice Sullivan: Independent Reviewer of Data Collection. 2024.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators (MNOs), ensuring that we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment, as well as identifying and addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and it is practical to do so.

In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 4G is available across 88% of landmass in the South Shropshire constituency from all four MNOs, while 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 80% of premises in the constituency from at least one MNO.

Whilst the rollout of 5G infrastructure is primarily commercially driven, government’s Shared Rural Network programme continues to deliver 4G coverage improvements. The programme has upgraded and activated two government funded Home Office masts which are providing new coverage to the more rural parts of South Shropshire.

Where a novel method is devised, it is expected to undergo evaluation in studies that describe its performance in its capacity to predict outcomes of testing of chemicals of a known profile. Such studies will be a forerunner to formal validation of the method which will likely involve comparative testing in many different laboratories, to ensure the method’s performance is robust.

In terms of what constitutes acceptable validation, the OECD also published a guidance document on validation of methods (see https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/guidance-document-on-the-validation-and-international-acceptance-of-new-or-updated-test-methods-for-hazard-assessment_e1f1244b-en.html).

In the strategy, we committed to establishing a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).

Reducing clinical trial set-up times is a priority across government, and the Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Science, Innovation and Technology are working closely together to fulfil the Prime Minister’s target of achieving study set-up in under 150 days by March 2026.

Cross-departmental monitoring takes place via the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme, a cross-sector programme that brings together delivery partners and key stakeholders, and through the joint-ministerial Life Sciences Delivery Board, which provides strategic oversight of progress on the Government’s ambitions for the Life Sciences sector, including targets to reduce set-up times for clinical trials.

The Government is committed to strengthening STEM skills and driving innovation across the UK, including the South West. DSIT has launched the TechFirst programme to deliver tech and AI learning to 1 million young people by 2029. This builds on CyberFirst, which has reached 415,000 students and recognised 230 schools, including 47 in the South West.

Since 2022, DSIT’s Cyber Local programme has delivered 18 initiatives in the South West, supporting economic growth and skills development. A list of 2024–25 programmes is available here.

DSIT is working with other government departments to increase regional and national STEM skills provisions. Through the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, the Government is investing £1.2 billion in skills development, including a £100 million Engineering Skills Package and new Technical Excellence Colleges. The South West hosts the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Hayle, supporting innovation and skills development in marine and energy technologies.

The UK Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, backed by a £182 million skills package, includes the Plymouth Defence Growth Deal (September 2025), securing a share of £250 million to boost defence innovation and skills in the region.

The Post‑16 Education and Skills White Paper focuses on employer‑led training and technical routes to tackle skills gaps. In the South West, this means Local Skills Improvement Plans shaping provision for priority sectors like clean energy, digital and defence, alongside Technical Excellence Colleges, expanding higher technical courses and apprenticeships to meet regional demand.

The government is committed to support the development and adoption of metamaterials, as part of our wider ambition to strengthen the UK’s advanced materials ecosystem. In June 2025, the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy prioritised advanced materials as a frontier industry and committed an initial £50 million to a National Materials Innovation Programme. The first feasibility call went live in November and specifically highlights metamaterials and metasurfaces as a strategic opportunity area.

This builds on existing government support for metamaterials, including the £19.6 million MetaHub public-private partnership with the University of Exeter, to advance 3D nanoscale metamaterials, and the Metamaterials Network Plus.

The Government wants to unlock the full potential of the tech sector, and increasing women’s participation in IT is essential to achieving this. That’s why on Monday 15^th December, we launched a Women in Tech Taskforce to identify and address the barriers that prevent women from entering and leading into tech careers.

The group is comprised of 14 prominent and diverse experts and industry leaders spanning technology, investment, entrepreneurship, and policy including BT’s first female chairman Allison Kirkby and Stemettes founder Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon. The taskforce will identify where interventions can have the biggest impact on increasing women’s participation in the sector and will develop practical recommendations for government.

In addition, programmes like the £187million TechFirst programme are helping build a more robust pipeline by providing training in AI and digital skills to support them into careers including cyber security, AI, quantum computing, software, data and more. Specific consideration is given to increasing participation among women and underrepresented groups.

Ofcom is responsible for assessing and reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. As part of the work to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage data, Ofcom updated their definition of ‘good’ mobile coverage in June 2025 to align with user’s expectations of their mobile service today.

According to their Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, when applying Ofcom’s updated definition of ‘good’ coverage, which represents combined 4G and 5G coverage, 98.7% of the constituency area of Bolsover has access to this level of connectivity from at least one network operator, with 70.6% of the constituency landmass having ‘good’ coverage from all four.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, and government is working closely with mobile network operators to ensure that the investment that they have committed translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including in Bolsover. This includes the identification and removal of barriers to deployment where required.

Ofcom is responsible for assessing and reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. As part of the work to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage data, Ofcom updated their definition of ‘good’ mobile coverage in June 2025 to align with user’s expectations of their mobile service today.

According to their Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, when applying Ofcom’s updated definition of ‘good’ coverage, which represents combined 4G and 5G coverage, 98.7% of the constituency area of Bolsover has access to this level of connectivity from at least one network operator, with 70.6% of the constituency landmass having ‘good’ coverage from all four.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, and government is working closely with mobile network operators to ensure that the investment that they have committed translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including in Bolsover. This includes the identification and removal of barriers to deployment where required.

According to independent website Thinkbroadband, approximately 94% of premises in the Bolsover constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband, this is higher than the UK average of 89%. They report that the average download speeds in the constituencies of Bolsover, North Derby, South Derby and Derbyshire Dales all exceed 200 Mbps, and exceeds 100 Mbps in the East Midlands region.

To extend coverage, approximately 1,900 premises in the Bolsover constituency are currently in scope of the Project Gigabit contract for Derbyshire, being delivered by Connect Fibre.

We recognise the importance of access to trusted health information. The Act does not prevent users from publishing legal content or children and adults from accessing relevant health information. Once the remaining duties come in, large platforms will not be able to arbitrarily remove content and there will be effective complaints procedures when they do. I have asked Ofcom to do everything possible to speed up this final phase.

AI is already regulated in the UK. A range of existing rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation and other forms of sector regulation. The Government will act where these laws are not enough to ensure safe use. We are exploring whether additional protections are needed. The Technology Secretary confirmed in Parliament last week that the Government will look at what more can be done to manage the emergent risks of AI chatbots.

The Secretary of State has written to Melanie Dawes and made absolutely clear the Government's full backing for Ofcom using all its powers to enfore the Act. Ofcom has issued fines under the Act to three services, including fining a pornography company £1 million. I welcome Ofcom's decision earlier this month to look into whether major social media platforms are meeting their duties to remove illegal terrorist and hate content. There are no more excuses for failing to protect users.

As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.

Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.

As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.

Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.

As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.

Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.

As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.

Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.

The Government views the recent partnership with Google as a strategic step in strengthening civil service digital skills and modernising public services. While this partnership is at an early stage, introducing Google as a major supplier supports diversification and competition in line with the Cloud First Policy, while strengthening public sector buying power to secure better value and innovation.

The Government views the recent partnership with Google as a strategic step in strengthening civil service digital skills and modernising public services. While this partnership is at an early stage, introducing Google as a major supplier supports diversification and competition in line with the Cloud First Policy, while strengthening public sector buying power to secure better value and innovation.

The UK has OECD representatives who were involved in developing our strategy to replace animals in science, and will be involved in its delivery. The strategy groups animal tests according to their readiness for replacement, based on maturity of potential alternative methods. These initial baskets will be refined in consultation with stakeholders, noting that two LD/LC50 tests are already in baskets 1 and 2 (botulinum potency and fish acute toxicity tests respectively) so are among the first targeted for phase-out. We will also establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM) to accelerate alternative method uptake.

We regularly meet with industry stakeholders, including AI firms, on potential risks that AI poses to businesses and the public.

There are a range of existing rules that already apply to AI systems to address risks, with the UK’s expert regulators empowered to apply rules in their own areas of competence. The government will act where these laws are not enough to ensure safe use.

For 2024/25 the total capital spend on Research and Development (R&D) in the category of Science and Society was £111.4m and for 2023/24 was £109.9m. £216.8m spend is planned for 2025/26 as presented within the Main Estimate for 2025/26. Science and Society is a reporting category and budgeted allocations from this area are sometimes reallocated to other DSIT reporting categories during the financial year. The budget at Main Estimate is therefore often higher than at Supplementary Estimate due to the timing of the budget allocations. Future year plans for 'Science and Society' will be confirmed as part of future Estimates.

Solutions that help to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated are key to tackling a range of AI risks. The government is undertaking work to explore the potential methods for detecting AI-generated content.

The UK’s Online Safety Act has introduced duties on in scope services to tackle digital impersonation where it amounts to an existing offence, including false statements about a candidate's character or conduct ahead of or during an election.

The UK also has strong data protection laws to help tackle the misuse of personal identity, through the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. These laws require that any personal data processing is lawful, fair and transparent.

The UK is leading international efforts to raise AI safety standards. Through the AI Security Institute we are building world-first public capabilities to test advanced AI systems and share methodologies internationally. We also work with our international partners across several multilateral organisations and standard bodies, including the G7, G20, UN, OECD, and GPAI to address a range of AI related issues.

Domestically, the Online Safety Act requires major platforms and search services to assess and mitigate fraud risks, including those amplified by AI, and take swift action to remove scam content on their platforms.

In addition, the Home Office will continue to ensure that Law Enforcement have the capabilities they need to tackle perpetrators who exploit the use of AI, while working closely with international partners and in partnership with the tech industry to build resilience and protect UK public and businesses.

In January, we accepted all 50 recommendations of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, setting out the steps we are taking to ensure the UK does not fall behind the advances in AI made by global competitors but rather is an AI maker, not an AI taker.

At the Spending Review, we committed up to £2 billion to deliver this plan, and are now 11 months into delivery. We are investing in the foundations of AI through world-class computing and data infrastructure, for example increasing public compute by 20x by 2030 through the expansion of the AI Research Resource programme, and through the announcement of 4 AI Growth Zone sites since January this year. We will also combine equity investment with other levers to back British businesses to become national champions in critical domains through the £500 million-backed Sovereign AI Unit.

DSIT is also working with the MoD to foster a world-leading UK defence technology sector through establishing the UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) Organisation and collaborating on National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) investment programmes.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we can strengthen our AI skills and talent base to ensure AI can be used by workers and the public across the UK. We are providing targeted support to SMEs, training 7.5 million workers with essential AI skills by 2030 and trialing AI traineeships at the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) in Newcastle, helping new UK AI graduates to develop industry-ready skill sets by working on real-world projects through industry placements.

We are also providing £5m for each AI Growth Zone (AIGZ) to support skills and adoption in the area and we are also ensuring that local authorities keep 100% of all business rates generated by sites where pre-existing arrangements do not exist.

We are targeting our funding to where it is most impactful and continue to forge strong partnerships with industry and local government to deliver these initiatives.

The use of AI varies by sector, and sector specific standards are starting to take shape, for example self-driving cars will now be in the UK from next year thanks to new standards from DFT.

The Government supports the development and adoption of technical AI standards through international processes such as the ISO and IEC, driven by an inclusive multistakeholder community, in a way that can provide practical guidance for organisations deploying AI, reduce barriers to innovation and help unlock the opportunities AI offers.

At the same time, some AI systems are more general-purpose. For these AI systems, we have built a strong AI group in DSIT, including the world-class AI Security Institute that tests frontier AI models before release.

The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK, including South Suffolk, from illegal and harmful content online.

Services regulated by the Act are required to use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from encountering the most harmful content including pornography, and put in place age-appropriate protections from other harmful content, including violence and bullying. These protections have been in force since July 2025. We continue to monitor the Act’s effectiveness and will not hesitate to take further action to protect children online if evidence shows this is necessary.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Medical Research Council (MRC) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects, building on long-standing partnerships, including with Wellcome and CRUK, to fund investments such as the Francis Crick Institute, where over 40 groups work on research directly relevant to cancer.

UKRI takes a strategic, long-term approach to investing in infrastructure that will underpin future discovery research, including a £29 million award to the University of Nottingham in 2022 to establish the UK’s most powerful MRI scanner, facilitating patient cancer studies. It also includes UK Biobank, which is enabling researchers to investigate the impact of lifestyle on cancer.

The MRC Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE), provides long term funding to tackle transformational research questions, and will enhance approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, including cancer.

The Government takes a coordinated, cross‑departmental approach to the opportunities and risks presented by AI. The UK‑commissioned AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we can harness AI to boost economic growth, improve public services and create new job opportunities, and our cross‑HMG response outlines the steps we are taking forward across the UK. My Department works closely with colleagues across Whitehall to ensure our approach remains aligned and responsive to developments.

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes. This includes identifying the contexts in which AI will complement and augment human activity—helping people work more efficiently.

Furthermore, to ensure that AI benefits everyone, the UK is investing in responsible AI to boost productivity, improve public services, advance healthcare innovation, and drive economic growth. AI Growth Zones, and expanded compute will support workers and industry, ensuring AI adoption strengthens national renewal and broadens opportunity.

The Online Safety Act does not set out to prevent adults from seeking out legal content, nor does it decide what legal content companies should or should not allow on their platforms. Platforms will not be able to arbitrarily remove content, and users will have access to effective complaints procedures when content is unduly taken down. Ofcom, the independent regulator, is working to ensure services understand how to comply with the new requirements.

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes.

The Government routinely brings together departments, industry, academics, and trade unions to discuss AI’s impact on the labour market and wider economy—including DSIT‑hosted roundtables – to inform Government’s approach to policy and analysis.

The government and Ofcom continue to monitor the use of VPNs since the Child Safety Duties commenced in July.

After these duties came into force, UK users of VPN apps temporarily doubled to around 1.5 million. Ofcom has since reported that VPN app usage dropped to around 900,000 by the end of November.

There remains limited evidence on how many children use VPNs and the government is working to address this gap. We will ensure any future interventions are proportionate and driven by the evidence.

AI systems have the potential to pose novel risks that emerge from models behaving in unintended ways. The possibility that this unintended behaviour could lead to loss of control over advanced AI systems is taken seriously by many experts and warrants close attention.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. One of the Institute’s research priorities is tracking the development of AI capabilities that could contribute towards AI’s ability to evade human control.

That is why the Institute launched the Alignment project - a funding consortium distributing up to £15m for research projects to carry out foundational research on methods for building AI systems, ensuring they reliably align with human values across multiple technical disciplines.

There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), but the possibility of their development must be taken seriously. The increasing capabilities of AI may exacerbate existing risks and present new risks, for which the UK need to be prepared.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. AISI focuses on emerging AI risks with serious security implications, including the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons, and the potential for loss of control presented by autonomous systems.

The Government has published a strategy to support alternatives to the use of animals in science, which considered economic impacts.

Building on the UK’s strengths as home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the strategy will support the UK to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030

The strategy has also considered the scientific and economic advantages of human-relevant methods for product development and testing.

We know there are lower computer literacy rates amongst older people and this can lead to digital exclusion - with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025 (2025 Consumer Digital Index report).

That’s why the Government is committed to helping more older people build these skills and confidence including through the Government’s digital entitlement. This gives eligible adults, including elderly people, access to fully funded basic digital skills courses and qualifications.

The Government £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is also funding projects directly helping more older people build the skills and confidence to get online - for example the £139,000 trial to co-design targeted strategies to improve digital inclusion for older people across England and London.

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and some demographics are more likely to be digitally excluded than others, including older people – with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025 (2025 Consumer Digital Index report).

That’s why in February we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the immediate steps we are taking to help more people benefit from being online.

Since then, we have launched the £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support community-led projects across the UK. This includes 80 projects across England which will meet the specific and diverse needs of digitally excluded people – including older people - to get online with confidence.

DSIT will invest a record £58.5 billion in R&D from 2026/27 to 2029/30, part of the £86 billion announced by the Chancellor—the largest government R&D investment ever.

UKRI investment in Lincolnshire increased by 43% between 2022/23 and 2023/24. Investment in the East Midlands also rose by 19%, reaching £596 million.

Lincolnshire and the East Midlands can bid for up to £20 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, to grow their high-potential innovation clusters. The fund empowers partnerships across the UK to target local R&D investment and aims to generate at least £1 billion of private co-investment across the programme.