Tag: Department for Science Innovation and Technology

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 10 December 2025.

Free support to get people online is rolling out in communities in every region of the country.

• 80 innovative digital skills and support schemes receive government funding to help most vulnerable in communities get online with confidence
• People in every region of the country will benefit, from disadvantaged young people to elderly people and the homeless, through expanded fund as part of the government’s push to close the digital divide
• Community-led initiatives to get people the skills and access to devices they need – delivering national renewal by boosting employment opportunities, saving people money, improving health and making life easier

Free support to get people online is rolling out in communities in every region of the country, so they can book a doctor’s appointment on the NHS app, shop around for better deals on things such as home insurance and food, or stay in touch with loved ones.

Today (Wednesday 10 December), Minister for Digital Inclusion, Liz Lloyd is unveiling 80 local schemes receiving backing from the first-of-its-kind £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.

From Leeds to London, Bristol to Nottingham this fund will support projects in communities across the UK, helping people at risk of being left behind get the access, skills and confidence they need to get online, improve their living standards and deliver national renewal.

Research suggests there are currently 8 million adults in the UK who lack basic digital skills¹ and 1.6 million who live offline altogether². This prevents them from accessing convenient digital government services online, managing their finances on their phone, or searching for job opportunities.

These people are locked out from some of the most basic opportunities that modern life offers, whether that’s mastering the essential digital skills for work – like setting up an email account and sharing files – or facing higher costs for things like home insurance, train travel and food – with people without internet access paying on average 25% more than consumers who are online³.

These new innovative schemes, tailored to suit the needs of local people, will change that. Disadvantaged young people across the North and Midlands will use e-sports to learn new digital skills and develop safe online behaviours; over 7,000 older people will learn how to use the NHS app to manage their health; and people experiencing homelessness will be able to access devices and data to get online to help them find accommodation and other essentials.

The success of these projects will help inform future initiatives to help get more people online and open up doors for them to make the most of the opportunities technology can bring – boosting employment, improving health and making life more convenient.

Minister for Digital Inclusion, Liz Lloyd said:

This government is tearing down the barriers to success and making the future work for all, not just the fortunate.

Being online is something many of us take for granted, but for millions it could mean a new job opportunity, quicker access to healthcare or a lifeline to the local community.

This fund will both empower community organisations to help those most at risk of being left behind get the skills, access and confidence they need – while also informing how we can help even more people in the future.

Some of the projects funded

The Bromley by Bow Centre’s Connected Lives project, visited by the Minister this week. This will support residents who attend the Centre’s Welcome Hub programmes, like its community food pantry, by providing digital skills training and devices to use for practical life tasks like managing benefits and paying bills online.

A project run by Age UK will help thousands of older people through events and skills sessions, to learn how to use the NHS app to manage health matters. Helping improve their physical and digital health at the same time.

Sheffield United’s Community Foundation will trial using e-sports video gaming to help 400 young people build digital skills and confidence, and raise awareness on being safe online. The Safe to Play project will adapt e-sports as a vehicle for digital inclusion in their existing Football Club charities youth programmes. Each club will deliver a 6–8 week programme of weekly workshops and esports play sessions, combining practical digital learning for young people, within a fun, safe and trusted environment.

The University of Bristol’s Future IDEAS project will bring together digitally excluded members of the community, and digital design experts to co-create a chat bot that will be used to facilitate digital skills and confidence building for the public. The co-creation will ensure the chatbot is built to understand the needs and capabilities of the people it’s being built to support. The chatbot will then be trialled in a rollout in community hubs alongside trained digital champions to measure its success. 

The fund is being directed at community organisations as the best placed to determine how to support the needs of their communities. Each organisation will report back on their project, with the findings used to work out what works best when it comes to helping people to get online, and using this to shape digital inclusion initiatives across the country in the future. 

Portions of the fund have been allocated to the devolved governments in:

• Scotland (£764,020)
• Wales (£400,368)
• Northern Ireland (£267,249)

This ensures that it is a UK-wide digital inclusion drive.  

The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is a key part of government’s drive to ensuring everyone has the digital skills needed to use technology to make life better and more convenient, and to access the jobs of the future. The Fund is one of government’s first 5 actions committed in this year’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan.

This fund will underpin the focused approach to society-wide skills development and access being implemented by Secretary of State for Technology, Liz Kendall. This includes the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s work with industry and civil society to get 7.5 million UK workers essential AI skills by 2030. DSIT is also preparing to launch government’s hallmark £187 million TechFirst skills programme in 2026, which will reach 1 million school students in classrooms across the UK, and develop the essential tech skills needed for our future workforce.

Elly De Decker, CEO of Bromley by Bow Centre:

Technology is ever-present in all aspects of our lives. Too many people, for a variety of reasons, are not able to engage with the growing influence of this technology, leading to more exclusion and inequality.

The reality in our community is that many people do not have the skills and access to the right tools to engage in the digital economy with confidence. We see this every day and we are working alongside local residents to help them improve their skills and confidence in practical and meaningful ways. This funding is absolutely crucial to reducing the digital divide.

Paul Farmer, CEO, Age UK, Mehfuz Ahmed, CEO, Age UK Westminster and Mary-Ann Foxwell, CEO, Age UK East London said: 

While many older people embrace the digital world, too many remain locked out of essential services. Age UK, Age UK East London and Age UK Westminster, welcome the government’s recognition of older people’s needs through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.

This vital support enables us to build on proven work in local communities: breaking down barriers, and empowering older people to use digital services confidently – improving health outcomes and fostering healthier, more connected, and independent lives

Debbie Cook, Director of Community at the English Football League (EFL) said: 

The Safe to Play campaign is an exciting and innovative way to support young people in our EFL Club communities. Using esports as a vehicle for digital inclusion, online safety, and wellbeing, we’re equipping disadvantaged young people with essential skills for the modern world.  

The project, that will run in 10 Football Club communities, led by Sheffield United’s Community Foundation, will provide a safe, engaging environment for around 400 participants and empower trained facilitators to deliver guidance informed by the British Esports Federation ‘Duty to Care in Esports’ framework. This project is about creating opportunities, building confidence, and ensuring every young person feels supported online and offline.

Councillor Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Cabinet Member for Innovation, said:

Digital inclusion isn’t just about providing access to technology – it’s about empowering people with the tools to change their lives.

Through our Digital Inclusion Initiative, over 5,500 residents can now connect to jobs, education, healthcare, and stay in touch with loved ones. It’s already having a real impact across our communities and proved to government that we know how to tackle digital exclusion. 

I’m proud that, working with our partners, and thanks to the government’s Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, we’re now able to build on that success to get even more people online. And this is only the start. We’re committed to closing the digital divide and creating a future where no one is left behind.

Helen Milner OBE, CEO of Good Things Foundation said: 

The funding from DSIT is a welcome and vital step that places digital inclusion firmly on the national agenda, demonstrating the government’s commitment to addressing exclusion. Support through the Fund is enabling Good Things Foundation to work alongside our trusted community partners to capture the real life barriers that people face.

Our evidence-led work with councils will create a blueprint that any local authority can use. We must ‘bake in, not bolt on’ digital inclusion to ensure everyone can participate in our digital society.

Councillor Louise McKinlay, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities, Economic Growth and Prosperity, Essex County Council said:  

We’re thrilled that Essex has been recognised nationally for its commitment to digital inclusion. Securing this funding is a fantastic achievement and will allow us to make a real difference in the lives of those groups who can sometimes be left behind in today’s digital world.  

By focusing on older adults, young people who are not in education or employment, and individuals with disabilities, we’re helping improve their computer skills and access exciting new opportunities, whether that is gaining employment, learning new skills or better connecting with their local community.

Rachel Kelly, Chief Executive of Women’s Health Matters said: 

At Women’s Health Matters in Leeds, we are delighted that this funding for our DigitALL Women project will help women build confidence and skills to use technology safely and independently.

Sitting alongside our support work for victim-survivors of Domestic Abuse, women whose children live in the care of others, and women seeking asylum, the project will provide support to help get women online, stay safe, provide suitable hardware, and make the most of digital tools in everyday life.

Andrew Morter, Chief Executive of Vision Norfolk said: 

We’re delighted to receive support from the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund for this vital project. For people with sight loss, digital technology can be truly life-changing – and is as important today as braille was 100 years ago – opening up access to information, services, and social connection – but only if they have the right support to use it safely and confidently.

This funding will enable us to recruit and train volunteers who can provide that crucial one-to-one support to help our clients navigate the digital world independently.” 

Andria Birch MBE, Bassetlaw Community and Voluntary Services CEO said: 

We are absolutely delighted to be leading the Tackling Technology Together partnership project. It is built on years of learning and partnership work with local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and our NHS and wider public sector colleagues and will enable us to deliver local solutions to local problems for those in greatest need.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 24 November 2025.

UKRI will deploy significant taxpayer backing to support government priorities, investing billions in UK expertise and innovation for growth and renewal.

• The UK’s public research funding body will deploy a significant portion of £38.6 billion in taxpayer backing to support government priorities, investing billions in UK expertise and innovation for growth and national renewal, Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says
• UKRI to invest £8 billion for specific government priorities and £7 billion for innovative company growth, to build and keep titans of future industries like quantum based in UK, building strong foundations for our economy
• Part of a package of announcements aimed at boosting funding and the in-flow of international talent into high-growth sectors of the future

Record public research funding will be explicitly directed towards supporting promising scale-ups, turbocharging economic growth and job opportunities through our Modern Industrial Strategy, and improving lives, as part of a shake-up of public R&D announced today. The move reinforces the government’s push for national renewal, a Britain built for all, and a fairer economy that works for and rewards working people – work which will be further cemented through announcements at the Budget, later this week.

Addressing research funders and major business leaders from the UK and beyond, the Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said today (Monday 24 November) that public R&D funding had for too long been spread thinly across multiple priorities and projects and now was time for ‘doing fewer things, better’. She outlined a ‘no-compromise’ approach that prioritises funding for the companies with the highest potential to grow into industry titans and into the sectors where the UK already retains a competitive advantage. Setting these priorities clearly, will support the national effort to build strong foundations for our economy and secure our country’s future.

UKRI is the country’s largest public research funder, giving it a central role in ensuring public money is invested in ambitious, pioneering research that will benefit the whole of the UK and provide a clear return on investment for hardworking taxpayers.

Addressing the UKRI Growth Summit in London, Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:

Scientific research and development is fundamental to building a better Britain: from new treatments for cancer, to breakthroughs in clean, affordable energy.

There is no route to stronger growth in this country, no answer to how we pay our way, or compete with the rest of the world, without science, technology and innovation leading front and centre. But we must be smarter about what we prioritise, for these efforts to succeed.

That is what today is all about. And by increasing funding for critical technologies like AI and engineering biology where the UK already excels, we can go even further.

£9 billion of UKRI’s record £38.6 billion settlement will go towards backing the fields of research in which the UK is among the strongest in the world, like AI and quantum, which could deliver breakthroughs in healthcare or pioneering cybersecurity tech to keep our country safe from threats. Funding for engineering biology will increase nearly three-fold, to £644 million, while funding for AI will more than double to £1.6 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that breakthroughs in AI alone could boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year, which could be worth up to an average £47 billion to the UK each year over a decade. Quantum computing meanwhile could add over £11 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2045. 

£8 billion will be allocated to funding research into the government’s priorities, including the Industrial Strategy’s priority areas and others like climate resilience and flood defence.

While another £7 billion will specifically fund innovative company growth to unlock the next generation of UK industry titans, building on the example set by:

• Cambridge-based Paragraf, which has raised around $140 million since it was founded in 2018 as a leader of graphene, powering products like electric cars and medical scanners more efficiently
• IFast, a diagnostics firm, working to detect antibiotic resistance much faster than traditional methods.
• Ceres Power, a clean energy company behind cutting edge fuel cell technology for hydrogen production, employing around 600 people and with a market capitalisation of over £700 million.

The third area that will see funding is £14 billion specifically for curiosity-driven research, which has been at the heart of great discoveries for generations – from the internet to medical breakthroughs that can treat a range of genetic diseases.

Universities will be key beneficiaries from UKRI’s record funding for R&D. Their core block grant and commercialisation funding from DSIT will grow in line with expected inflation over the Spending Review period.

Attracting top science and research talent to the UK, especially in the 8 key sectors of the Modern Industrial Strategy, is essential for achieving cutting-edge breakthroughs that economic growth, jobs, and entire new industries will be founded upon. Today the Science Secretary has also revealed the progress being made in those efforts – with the first 4 world-leading researchers relocating to the UK through the £54 million Global Talent Fund. These lead researchers are expected to also bring up to 10 individuals to support their research projects from abroad.

These leading researchers will be based across the country, and are spearheading work that could transform our health and wealth, ranging from efforts in neurobiology – which could give new insights into Alzheimer’s – to better ways of tackling the pests and diseases that could cost the global agriculture industry over £400 billion in losses every year if left unchecked.

This comes alongside additional leading scientists and academics being welcomed to the UK via other DSIT funded flagship talent and grant schemes delivered through UKRI and the UK’s 4 National Academies.

Alongside this transformative reform to R&D funding and work bringing in the best international talent, the government is also today announcing a raft of further announcements that will help support our R&D sector to turbocharge economic growth in the UK:

• Launching the competition to find the next Chair of UKRI’s Board, as Sir Andrew MacKenzie’s term concludes after adeptly leading the UKRI Board since 2021. We are seeking a leader committed to protecting and growing curiosity-driven research, addressing government priorities and tackling the UK’s biggest challenges. They will also play a key role in enabling R&D-intensive companies to start up, scale up and stay in the UK while helping to leverage the private sector backing that can take discoveries to the next level
• Setting UK researchers 2 ambitious challenges as part of our R&D Missions Accelerator Programme, backed by £4 million in the first year, on industrialising and digitalising construction and developing the infrastructure for our creative content exchange
• Launching the latest round of Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards, with £4.5 million available for up to 60 women – building on findings showing that if men and women started and scaled businesses at the same rate, this could add up to £250 billion to the UK economy
• Trebling the government’s investment in the UK’s world-leading Metascience Unit to £49 million. The unit supports research into how we can increase the impact and efficiency of investment in science

UKRI CEO, Professor Sir Ian Chapman said:

The record investment in R&D shows government’s commitment to putting UK research and innovation at the forefront of our national success. At UKRI, our mission is clear: to advance knowledge, improve lives, and drive growth. We will invest strategically in areas where the UK can achieve a significant market share globally. Research and innovation must be central to boosting the UK’s economy and delivering real improvements to people’s lives and livelihoods.

Notes to editors

Universities will see their core flexible research and commercialisation funding grow in line with expected inflation over the next 3 academic years. 

Applications for Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards are open until 4 February 2026. 

One of the Metascience Unit’s early successes has been the trial of Distributed Peer Review – a novel method of assessing research proposals in which applicants themselves participate in the review process. UKRI will now expand the use of Distributed Peer Review across the organisation, enabling researchers from all disciplines to access funding more quickly and experience fewer delays between proposal development and project initiation. And we are launching a new £6 million grant opportunity for UK-led metascience projects.  

Global Talent Fund details

Attracting international talent is the catalyst for creating British jobs, boosting investment, and increasing productivity – just what our economy needs. The £54 million Global Talent Fund is enabling leading scientists and their teams to relocate and thrive in the UK. The Fund is designed to attract a total of 60-80 individuals in top research teams to the UK, working in the 8 high priority sectors critical to our modern Industrial Strategy like life sciences and digital technologies.  

This work is supported by the Global Talent Taskforce, which is driving efforts to ensure the UK remains a world leader in attracting and retaining exceptional talent. By bringing the very best minds to the UK, working in fields that will be critical to our health, business, and everyday life, we can pave the way for the products, jobs and even industries that define tomorrow’s economy, to be made and grow in Britain. 

The Fund is being delivered by 12 of the UK’s leading universities and research institutions. 

Talent recruitment through the Fund is already underway, with the following researchers and academics having joined, or being set to join, institutions in the UK: 

• Professor Baljit Khakh, joining Cardiff University as the new Director of UK Dementia Research Institute, from UCLA, United States. His exceptional work in the fields of neurobiology and neurodegeneration have seen him honoured with the H.W Magoun Distinguished Lectureship, the 134th UCLA Faculty Research Lecture, NIH Director’s Pioneer Award and election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS) – the highest accolade in UK science. 
• Professor Armin Raznahan, who is being appointed to the W. A. Handley Chair in Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. Professor Raznahan is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and will be joining Oxford’s Merton College from his current role at the US National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program (NIMH IRP). His work is focused on improving outcomes for young people with mental health problems. 
• Dr Hassan Salem joining the John Innes Centre, from the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Germany. Dr Salem’s research focuses on the relationship between plants an insects, including pests and the diseases they carry – a critical area of work for food security. Crop losses caused by plant diseases and pests could cost the global economy over £400 billion a year if left unchecked. 
• Dr Sven Truckenbrodt, who has joined the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology from a research not-for-profit in California, United States. Sven is pioneering work on ‘molecular connectomics’: a new way of mapping how the brain works – which could change how we understand mental health problems. In his career to date he has invented new ways of mapping and tracking brain activity. The Global Talent Fund has allowed Sven to obtain highly specialised microscopes at the cutting edge of available technology, perfectly tailored to his research needs. 

The Global Talent Fund, administered by UKRI, is just one part of over £115 million funding that is being dedicated to attracting the very best scientific and research talent to the UK. This includes the expanded Encode: AI for Science Fellowships and the Turing AI Fellowships, which is embedding world-class AI researchers into UK labs, ensuring the UK remains a global hub for cutting-edge research and innovation. 

It sits alongside additional DSIT funded flagship talent and grant schemes open to international research talent delivered through UKRI and the UK’s 4 prestigious National Academies. For example, the Royal Society’s Newton International Fellowships and the British Academy’s International Fellowships which are both aimed at attracting outstanding international early-career researchers to the UK. 

Today, the Medical Research Council (MRC) is announcing additional funding of up to £8.5 million to expand its ‘early independence’ Career Development Award (CDA) and Clinical Scientist Fellowship (CSF) schemes, making it easier for international researchers to build careers in the UK.   

Just last week, the Academy of Medical Sciences announced their latest 3 Professorship Awards, funding top-level researchers working on child mental health, heart disease and cancer to continue their work in the UK. 

The Royal Society also recently announced a cohort of exceptional researchers awarded early career fellowships open to domestic and international talent and worth more than £83 million. These early career schemes are supported by DSIT and include the University Research Fellowships, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships and Newton International Fellowships. 

The Royal Society recently announced its first awards for the Faraday Discovery Fellowships and the Royal Academy of Engineering are also expected to announce their first awards for the Green Future Fellowships in due course – both schemes are open to international talent, and have launched additional Accelerated International Application routes for exceptional non-UK-based researchers. 

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 12 November 2025.

New legislation sees government work with AI industry and child protection organisations to ensure AI models cannot be misused to create synthetic child sexual abuse images.

• World-leading legislation sees government work with AI industry and child protection organisations to ensure AI models cannot be misused to create synthetic child sexual abuse images. 
• Technology Secretary and Home Secretary will have new powers to designate AI developers and charities like the Internet Watch Foundation as authorised testers. 
• Comes as fresh Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) data shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.(note)

Children will be better protected from becoming victims of horrific indecent deepfakes as the government introduces new laws to ensure Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be exploited to generate child sexual abuse material. 

Data from the Internet Watch Foundation released today (Wednesday 12 November) shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025. (note)

There has also been a disturbing rise in depictions of infants, with images of 0–2-year-olds surging from 5 in 2024 to 92 in 2025. (note)

Under stringent new legislation, designated bodies like AI developers and child protection organisations, such as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), will be empowered to scrutinise AI models, and ensure safeguards are in place to prevent them generating or proliferating child sexual abuse material, including indecent images and videos of children. 

Currently, criminal liability to create and possess this material means developers can’t carry out safety testing on AI models, and images can only be removed after they have been created and shared online. This measure, one of the first of its kind in the world, ensures AI systems’ safeguards can be robustly tested from the start, to limit its production in the first place.

The laws will also enable organisations to check models have protections against extreme pornography, and non-consensual intimate images. 

While possessing and generating child sexual abuse material is already illegal under UK law, both real and synthetically produced by AI, improving AI image and video capabilities present a growing challenge. 

We know that offenders who seek to create this heinous material often do so using images of real children – both those known to them and those found online – and attempt to circumnavigate safeguards designed to prevent this.

This measure aims to make such actions more difficult by empowering companies to ensure their safeguards are effective and to develop innovative, robust methods to prevent model misuse.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: 

We will not allow technological advancement to outpace our ability to keep children safe. 

These new laws will ensure AI systems can be made safe at the source, preventing  vulnerabilities that could put children at risk.

By empowering trusted organisations to scrutinise their AI models, we are ensuring child safety is designed into AI systems, not bolted on as an afterthought. 

Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said:

We must make sure children are kept safe online and that our laws keep up with the latest threats. This new measure will mean legitimate AI tools cannot be manipulated into creating vile material and more children will be protected from predators as a result.

It comes as new Internet Watch Foundation data also shows the severity of the material has intensified over the past year. Category A content – images involving penetrative sexual activity, images involving sexual activity with an animal, or sadism – rose from 2,621 to 3,086 items, now accounting for 56% of all illegal material compared to 41% last year. (note) 

Girls have been overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025.(note)

To ensure testing work is carried out safely and securely, the government will also bring together a group of experts in AI and child safety.  

The group will help design the safeguards needed to protect sensitive data, prevent any risk of illegal content being leaked, and support the wellbeing of researchers involved.  

These changes, which will be tabled today (Wednesday 12 November) as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, mark a major step forward in safeguarding children in the digital age. 

They reflect the government’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with AI developers, tech platforms, and child protection organisations to build a safer online world for children. 

We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, particularly for children, and this includes when using AI Models. This measure aims to help us achieve that goal by making AI models used by the British public safer and more robust at preventing offenders from misusing this exciting technology for criminal activity.

This proactive approach not only protects children from exploitation and re-victimisation but also reinforces public trust in AI innovation - proving that technological progress and child safety can go hand in hand. 

Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), said: 

We welcome the government’s efforts to bring in new measures for testing AI models to check whether they can be abused to create child sexual abuse. For 3 decades, we have been at the forefront of preventing the spread of this imagery online – we look forward to using our expertise to help further the fight against this new threat. 

AI tools have made it so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to make potentially limitless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material. Material which further commodifies victims’ suffering, and makes children, particularly girls, less safe on and off line. 

Safety needs to be baked into new technology by design. Today’s announcement could be a vital step to make sure AI products are safe before they are released.

Notes to editors

(note): Internet Watch Foundation research – trends of AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) (data compares January to October 2024 vs January to October 2025)

• AI reports actioned more than doubled, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.
• While the overall number of AI images and videos decreased slightly (6,459 in 2024 to 5,560 in 2025), severity has intensified. Category A content rose from 2,621 to 3,086 items, now accounting for 56% of all illegal material compared to 41% last year.
• Gender analysis shows girls remain overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025, though there is a small increase in boys appearing. Age profiles reveal a disturbing rise in depictions of infants: images of 0–2-year-olds surged from 5 in 2024 to 92 in 2025, while older age brackets saw reductions.

Each ‘report’ the IWF receives refers to a webpage or URL – each of which may contain one, or multiple, images or videos of child sexual abuse. A webpage only needs to contain a single confirmed image or video of child sexual abuse for the IWF to take action to have it removed.

The image by image analysis refers to individual images and videos which the IWF has discovered (hence the higher numbers). Each number is an individual image or video – allowing for a more granular break down of age/sex/severity of the abuse in the imagery.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 12 November 2025.

Tech Minister signs Innovation Partnership with Netherlands.

• Ministers sign UK-Netherlands Innovation Partnership in London – deepening ties on AI, quantum and semiconductors
• With leading science and tech companies and top-tier research talent, both countries are natural partners in science and technology
• Partnership builds on research UK and Netherlands already pursue together through Horizon Europe, CERN, and more

Efforts to develop the next generation of super-powerful computers, to put quantum products to work in settings from clean energy to medical research, and to support for the UK’s semiconductor  innovators, are all in line for a boost through a new UK-Netherlands new partnership on science and tech. The deal has been agreed by Ministers from both countries yesterday (Tuesday 11 November).

The UK’s Minister for AI and Online Safety, Kanishka Narayan, and the Netherlands’ Cabinet Minister for Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, signed the UK-Netherlands Innovation Partnership at a meeting in London on 11 November. The agreement sets out how the 2 countries will forge closer ties in their work to seize the vast potential for AI, quantum, and semiconductors to be forces for economic growth and to help tackle major challenges facing both countries, from climate change to healthcare.

These are 3 areas which the UK and the Netherlands are well-placed to collaborate on:

• the UK’s semiconductor clusters in South Wales, Scotland and elsewhere harbour deep expertise in specialised fields like chip design and compound semiconductors, while the Netherlands is home to companies like ASML which are critical to the entire world’s semiconductors supply chain
• both countries already work together closely on quantum, with a joint R&D scheme worth £1.2 million currently being delivered
• as well as having considerable AI strengths, both the UK and the Netherlands are exploring new forms of computing, inspired by the workings of the human brain, to make future AI systems more powerful and sustainable

UK Minister for AI and Online Safety Kanishka Narayan said:

Breakthrough technologies like AI and quantum are at the heart of our ambitions for economic growth, better public services, and national renewal.

These fields are already delivering breakthroughs: from life-saving medicines to next-gen batteries for clean energy, these breakthroughs are already changing lives.

By partnering with the Netherlands, we can accelerate innovation and deliver more impact, faster.

The Innovation Partnership agreed builds on strong science and tech ties that already exist between the UK and the Netherlands. Both countries’ researchers work together through Horizon Europe, the world’s largest programme of research collaboration, which has seen British solar energy firm Oxford PV work together with the Dutch Marine Energy Centre, on a £6 million project testing a floating solar farm on the North Sea.

The UK and the Netherlands are also part of shared international endeavours like the PIXEurope consortium – a close to €400 million European initiative aimed at advancing photonic chip technologies. Among its 20 participating research organisations are the University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton from the UK and Dutch institutes TU Delft, the University of Twente, and TNO.

While both countries are also part of shared international endeavours like the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, the European Space Agency, and particle physics laboratory CERN – where breakthroughs in particle accelerator technology have led to advanced cancer therapies.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 21 October 2025.

A new blueprint for AI regulation is being announced by the Technology Secretary today (Tuesday 21st October) to help drive innovation and growth.

• AI Growth Labs will unlock new ways to accelerate innovation and cut bureaucracy in a safe environment
• More new homes, better outcomes for patients, and world-leading innovations for professional services among potential wins for the public
• This new approach to regulation will help drive forward growth and national renewal under the government’s Plan for Change

More new homes, better outcomes for patients, and world-leading innovations are among the benefits people can expect to see from a new blueprint for AI regulation being announced today, as the government slashes bureaucracy and ramps up the safe adoption of AI to unlock its full potential.  

At the Times Tech Summit today (21st October), the Technology Secretary will announce plans to look at how companies and innovators can test new AI products in real-world conditions, with some rules and regulations temporarily relaxed under strict supervision.

Known as sandboxes, individual regulations are temporarily switched off or tweaked for a limited period of time in safe, controlled testing environments. They would initially be set up for key sectors of the economy like healthcare, professional services, transport, and the use of robotics in advanced manufacturing, to accelerate the responsible development and deployment of AI products.

The announcement comes as the Chancellor also details progress made towards delivering on the government’s vision for a regulatory system that better supports growth and innovation. At today’s Regional Investment Summit, the Chancellor will announce a range of pro-growth reforms that will help deliver that vision set out March’s Regulation Action Plan, including a plan to save businesses across the country nearly £6 billion a year by 2029 by cracking down on pointless admin tasks.

AI applications hold the potential to make the lives of citizens better, faster. The AI Growth Lab will pilot responsible AI which can otherwise be held back by certain regulation, and generate real-world evidence for the impact they can deliver. This will ramp up adoption of AI and deliver opportunities for people across the country, cutting bureaucracy that can choke innovation and supporting businesses to flourish to deliver tangible national renewal.

For example, a testing ground focused on building AI tools could support health workers deliver better patient care on an accelerated timeline. This would also help reduce NHS waiting lists and time demands on frontline NHS staff, as well as ensure that public services are working around the lives of the British public.

Currently, a typical housing development application racks up 4,000 pages of documentation and takes as long as 18 months from submission to approval. By reviewing regulations to explore how AI could support officials, those times could be slashed – speeding up decision making and putting the government’s plans to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current Parliament in the fast lane.

Close working between businesses and regulators are already delivering transformations for the public. A sandbox led by the Information Commissioner’s Office has supported age verification company Yoti to fine tune their age estimation technology to help keep young people safe online, while another trial has helped FlyingBinary to develop online services which support mental health patients.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:

To deliver national renewal, we need to overhaul the old approaches which have stifled enterprise and held back our innovators. 

We want to remove the needless red tape that slows progress so we can drive growth and modernise the public services people rely on every day. 

This isn’t about cutting corners – it’s about fast-tracking responsible innovations that will improve lives and deliver real benefits.

In a further push to unlock benefits for the wider public through AI, a pot of £1 million is being set aside to support the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to pilot AI-assisted tools. These would support scientific expertise, speed up drug discovery and clinical trial assessments, and licensing to improve efficiency and consistency – while keeping all decisions firmly in human hands.   

The continued safe and responsible development of AI would be central to the government’s plans for its proposed AI Growth Lab. It would not be a testing ground where regulations could be switched on or switched off at will, but would see strict, time limited restrictions being put in place to set out which specific regulatory hurdles could be avoided or modified under close supervision.  

It will be overseen by tech and regulatory experts and backed up by a strict licensing scheme with strong safeguards, meaning any breaches of individual agreements, or the emergence of unacceptable risks would stop testing in its tracks and open users who have breached their terms up to potential fines. 

While this would mark new ground in terms of AI, other regulatory testing grounds have already been put to effective use across the economy.  

The Digital Securities Sandbox for example is helping finance firms and innovators by giving them the ability to test innovative tech solutions for some of the most urgent challenges in the financial sector. It is helping to deliver a more secure and efficient financial system by focusing on Distributed Ledger Technology, which creates a single bank of data on financial transactions to speed up efficiencies and help tackle fraud. 

Internationally, countries are already using sandboxes to speed safe deployment. Jurisdictions such as the EU, USA, Japan, Estonia and Singapore have announced or implemented some form of regulatory sandbox for AI. The UK pioneered the global sandbox model with the launch of the FCA’s 2016 fintech sandbox – with transformative AI approaching, the UK must stay at the vanguard of international best practice in regulatory innovation – and the benefits this brings for UK innovation and jobs. 

The government will now move ahead with a public call for views on its AI Growth Lab proposals. At the heart of that process will be considerations over whether the programme should be run in-house by the government, or overseen by regulators themselves. 

The adoption of AI is the defining economic opportunity of the coming decade, but currently only 21% of UK firms are using the technology. The OECD currently estimates that AI could improve UK productivity by as much as 1.3 percentage points every year – worth the equivalent of £140 billion. The AI Growth Lab will provide a route to test and pilot responsible AI innovations hindered by regulation – driving AI adoption and economic growth.

Further Information

Exclusions from the sandbox would include consumer protection and safety provisions, fundamental rights, workers’ protections and intellectual property rights.

Industry and stakeholder reaction

David Wakeling, Head of AI, A&O Shearman, said:

This call for evidence contemplates an agile approach to regulation, removing red-tape where it serves no purpose and breaking down silos between regulators.  These steps will be crucial for UK businesses, investors and capital providers to stay globally competitive in the AI race.

Leo Ringer, Partner, Form Ventures, said:

This is a strong signal of ambition to ensure the UK is a world leading place to start and scale an AI business. Existing regulatory frameworks weren’t created with AI in mind, and the sheer pace of tech progress means it’s no surprise that they risk slowing down innovation and adoption. 

We have incredible talent and growing amounts of capital for AI startups in the UK – flexible, pro-innovation regulation is the third ingredient we need to really unlock investment and growth.

Luther Lowe, Head of Public Policy, Y Combinator, said:

The AI Growth Lab addresses a critical challenge: enabling AI startups to launch innovative products without waiting years for regulatory clarity.

For Y Combinator companies, faster time to market matters—and if the Lab delivers on its promise while maintaining appropriate oversight, it sets a strong model for how governments can keep pace with AI innovation.

Paul Murphy, General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said:

As investors in many of the world’s leading AI labs, we know regulatory speed impacts where breakthrough companies scale. The UK can be a major player in this race with fast, fair, and globally competitive sandbox access.

Vinous Ali, Deputy Executive Director at Start-Up Coalition:

Startup Coalition has long campaigned for a cross-economy sandbox to help speed up startups’ route to market. The UK has historic strengths in sandboxing and this latest proposal takes it into the future helping bring regulators and businesses together to collaborate in a nimble and open way. 

It is great to see government take a leaf out of the startup manual by adjusting their risk appetite to win the race.

Vishal Marria, Founder and CEO, Quantexa, said:

The UK has an incredible foundation in AI research and innovation, and to truly unlock its economic and societal potential, we need to accelerate how ideas are turned into reality to make tangible impact. An AI Growth Lab has the potential to provide the bridge between world-class research and real-world application, helping organizations of all sizes adopt AI responsibly, confidently, and at scale. 

By combining trusted data, contextual understanding, and collaboration across industry, academia, and government as part of its broader set of strategic AI initiatives, the UK will continue to position itself as a world leader in turning AI from promise into performance.

Antony Walker, Deputy CEO at TechUK, said:

TechUK welcomes the launch of AI Growth Lab, which represents a strong, positive step towards a pro-growth regulatory approach that will help companies to safely develop, scale, and deploy AI in key sectors of the UK economy. 

If we get this right, the AI Growth Lab can add real value by drawing on learnings from existing AI sandboxes and working closely with AI businesses to deliver tangible results and deliver real-world impact.

Finn Stevenson, CEO at Flok Heathcare, said:

The potential for AI to transform healthcare is enormously exciting, but good regulation is required to ensure that these novel technologies are safe and effective for patients. As we’ve shown with our Class IIa medical device clearance for AI physiotherapy, it is absolutely possible to certify products like this, but many more innovations could get to market faster if the rules were modernised for a software-driven world. 

Regulators like the MHRA, and the notified bodies that assess AI products on their behalf, currently have the unenviable task of applying rules designed for physical products to advanced software systems that are radically different than anything that existed when the regulations were written. In revisiting those regulations, the AI Growth Lab is a valuable opportunity to make the UK a global destination for healthcare AI.

Dr Hammad Jeilani, Medical Director and Co-Founder, Apian, said:

Apian is helping the NHS focus on what matters most: humans caring for humans. 

Our AI-powered autonomous robots increase productivity and cut costs – handling routine logistics so healthcare staff can dedicate more time to patient care. A cross-economy sandbox will let innovators like Apian safely test and scale these systems, making NHS logistics invisible, resilient and truly patient-centred.

Rafie Faruq, Co-Founder & CEO at Genie, said:

Genie has built the autonomous legal department for businesses by enabling them to create their personalised legal agents that can auto-draft, negotiate and review legal documents and deals. In one recent case, Cambridge Utd Football Club signed the first ever football player through Genie AI without a lawyer. But providing AI-generated legal advice, particularly for regulated legal areas like securities, employment, or housing – may constitute unauthorised practice of law.

The AI Growth Lab would allow Genie to trial an autonomous legal agent in live commercial environments. We believe this sandbox could be transformative – both in reducing startup costs and helping UK businesses scale faster through AI-enabled contracting.

Andrew Bennett, Centre for British Progress, said:

Britain must move quickly to grow and secure our stake in the next industrial revolution. Yet too often, economic opportunities and British startups are held back by regulatory bottlenecks. 

The AI Growth Lab can provide a safe, accelerated pathway for using AI to deliver better outcomes across the country.

Karl Havard, Chief Commercial Officer, Nscale, said:

Nscale is super supportive of the AI Growth Labs. The creation of safe sandbox environments will be a much needed catalyst to develop and test new products and services that will directly benefit the people of the UK. 

It’s great to see the UK government leading the way on such an initiative, and Nscale is looking forward to playing a supporting role in making this a reality.

Nigel Toon, Graphcore founder, said:

Graphcore welcomes the launch of the AI Growth Lab as a means of encouraging innovators to push the boundaries of this transformative technology. 

We hope that the UK’s forward-looking approach to AI will drive AI adoption and deliver the same sort of success stories that the financial technology regulatory sandbox did in the past.

Michael Sellitto, Head of Global Affairs, Anthropic, said:

We are really encouraged the UK government is looking in this direction, to create space for experimentation and promote innovation.

Hugh Milward, Vice President External Affairs, Microsoft, said:

Widespread AI diffusion across the economy is fundamental to delivering the UK’s economic growth ambition and we welcome the government’s continued progress on the AI Opportunities Plan towards this goal. 

The AI Growth Lab is an interesting and creative initiative to provide the flexible regulatory approach that will support faster UK AI innovation and we look forward to hearing more.

Matthew Wright, Head of U.K., Delian Alliance Industries, said:

AI and autonomous systems will be integral to the future of defence and civil protection, but startups leveraging these technologies face considerable regulatory barriers today. 

We therefore welcome the AI Growth Lab’s ambition to minimise these hurdles. In doing so, the Lab will help such startups to drive economic growth while enhancing national security.

Dr. Tim Bazalgette, Chief AI Officer at Darktrace, said:

Darktrace welcomes the government’s ambition for monitored AI sandboxes. 

Allowing innovators to test transformative applications of AI in safe conditions and demonstrate that they have genuine real-world value will help to accelerate the deployment of effective AI solutions across critical areas of the British economy, supporting the public good and driving growth.

Jon J. Paull, COO, Octopus Energy Group, said:

At Octopus, we’ve shown how responsible AI can supercharge innovation, from forecasting renewable generation to transforming customer service.  

Outdated rules can too often slow progress so we welcome government’s proposal for an AI Growth Lab, a safe, collaborative space where UK innovators and regulators can test responsibly, and evolve the frameworks that govern new technology.

Aidan Gomez, Co-Founder and CEO, Cohere, said:

Today’s announcement will accelerate the speed that AI can improve people’s lives, especially in critical, regulated areas like healthcare. 

The UK government’s leadership on policies that enable quick, but responsible, development and deployment of transformative, cutting edge technology is why Cohere has consistently invested in the country since our founding.

Nik Storonsky, CEO and Co-Founder, Revolut, said: 

 >Accelerating AI adoption is critical for the UK banking sector and the entire economy. This initiative will give innovators like Revolut the clarity and speed we need to build and deploy groundbreaking AI services, reinforcing the UK’s leadership and delivering real value to millions of customers.

Dr Marc Warner, CEO and founder, Faculty AI said:

The UK AI sector is growing 30 times faster than the rest of the economy and has world-leading companies – yet there are no guarantees the next DeepMind will found and grow here.

If ministers want more domestic AI success stories, they must make conscious choices today about how they support our start ups and scale ups.

Removing red tape to allow safe testing and iterating of AI products is a welcome step in backing the sector to build the faster, cheaper, more efficient public services we need.

Max Jamilly, co-founder and CEO, Hoxton Farms, said:

At Hoxton Farms, we’ve seen both sides of the innovation equation. Our AI-enabled control software for manufacturing biologic medicines is held back by outdated AI rules, yet our positive experience in the FSA’s Cell Cultivated Products Sandbox for Novel Foods shows that forward-thinking regulation can unlock markets and accelerate new technology.

Sandboxes work: they enable fast, efficient collaboration between innovators and policymakers while minimising risk. Pragmatic and efficient rules for AI will help to turn UK start-ups into global leaders.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 16 October 2025.

The government’s AI tool Consult analysed 50,000+ responses to the Independent Water Commission review in 2 hours, matching human accuracy and potentially saving 75,000 days of manual work each year.

• AI tool built by the UK government sped up analysis of over 50,000 responses to a government-commissioned review of the water sector. 
• Named ‘Consult’, the tool was found to be at least as accurate and reliable as humans.
• The tool could ultimately help save 75,000 days of manual analysis which is currently slowing down policy action across government every year.

Specialist AI tech built by the UK government helped to speed up the government’s decision to abolish Ofwat.

The simple task of sorting over 50,000 responses into key themes made the Independent Water Commission (IWC) analysis more efficient and effective. The AI tool categorised responses into themes in around 2 hours, costing £240 and experts only needed 22 hours to check the results.

It meant policy experts could focus on using themes and categorised responses to inform recommendations for their independent report, rather than sorting tens of thousands of individual responses.

Alongside the AI-assisted thematic analysis, the team also completed detailed manual reviews of responses from stakeholders to ensure their perspectives were thoroughly considered.

The work of ‘Consult’ was compared to 2 groups of experts. It agreed with one or both of the groups almost 83% of the time, while the 2 well-practiced human groups only agreed with each other 55% of the time.

Earlier in the year the tool successfully supported the analysis of the Scottish government’s consultation on non-surgical cosmetics. It has been confirmed that it was also used to sort responses to the Digital Inclusion Action Plan. With 800 people responding to the ‘call for evidence’, the technology was accurate and sped up the government’s ability to find initial results.

The technology, part of ‘Humphrey’, will analyse other consultations responses in a bid to save officials from 75,000 days of manual analysis every year, which costs £20 million in staffing costs. This will help to create a more agile, effective state refocused on delivering Plan for Change.

Digital Government Minister Ian Murray said:

This shows the huge potential for technology and AI to deliver better and more efficient public services for the public and provide better value for the taxpayer.

By taking on the basic admin, Consult is giving staff time to focus on what matters – taking action to fix public services. In the process, it could save the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Another tool in the ‘Humphrey’ suite, called ‘Redbox’, helped 5,330 officials at its peak work more efficiently – with the technology helping them to summarise long documents, draft briefing notes and more.

Since it was introduced, major tech companies have started to provide tools that give officials a secure way to use large language models that are integrated into IT systems they are already using, for example, Microsoft Copilot. Often, these come as part of existing software deals between the government and technology companies.

For example, a recent trial of Microsoft Copilot found that the technology could save officials 2 weeks every year. As a result, engineers in the team are developing new tools, such as those identified by the Prime Minister as ‘AI Exemplars’ which aim to speed up planning decisions to help build homes, help probation officers have more impactful engagements with offenders, and more.

As a result, development on Redbox will not continue, though it has now been open-sourced. The engineers that built the tool have gone on to use their knowledge to build other technology in the ‘Humphrey’ suite and also shared information that was used to build GOV.UK Chat, the generative AI chatbot that will soon be trialled in the GOV.UK App.

Notes to editors

The evaluation of Consult on the Independent Water Commission call for views shows that it secured an F1 score (a common measure of alignment for AI tools) of 0.79 and 0.82. This is higher than the F1 score between human reviewers (0.74), and shows an increase from 0.76 when the technology was used on the Scottish government consultation, which received fewer responses (2,000). There are 2 F1 figures since there were 2 groups of reviewers that Consult was compared to. They’ve reported the individual scores for both groups.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 13 October 2025.

Building Digital UK will be integrated into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 1 November 2025.

As of 1 November 2025 the executive agency responsible for improving broadband and mobile coverage in hard-to-reach parts of the UK, Building Digital UK (BDUK), will be integrated into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This update is part of the Government-wide review of arms length bodies launched in April.

BDUK will continue to deliver its important work as it becomes a directorate of the department and there are no changes to BDUK contracts as a result. Contractors currently working with BDUK do not need to take any action.

The government remains fully committed to BDUK’s programmes, Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, with £1.9 billion allocated for their delivery at the last Spending Review. The success of BDUK’s work to date means the UK has already met previous targets of 85% gigabit coverage and 95% 4G coverage a year early. The government recently reconfirmed its commitment to achieving nationwide gigabit coverage and now expects 99% of premises to have access to a gigabit-capable connection by 2032.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 6 October 2025.

• Local areas can now bid for support of up to £20 million each in government funding to grow existing regional science and tech expertise
• Investment will back local leaders who know their regions best, unlocking discoveries and creating hundreds of jobs as part of record £86 billion R&D settlement
• Builds on support already earmarked to local leaders in ten UK areas through Local Innovation Partnerships Fund – driving regional growth through Plan for Change

Local leaders across the country can now bid for support of up to £20 million each in a new competition, as the government backs regional expertise to deliver cutting-edge research that could save lives and create jobs (Monday 6 October).

Research funding body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is inviting a broad range of local and regional partnerships to bid for government funding to support research and innovation projects in their area through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. The competition will back partnerships that can turn existing research breakthroughs into practical solutions that create jobs and improve people’s lives, supporting the government’s Plan for Change.

The fund is designed to help regions across the UK build on their existing strengths – whether that is developing technology that helps doctors diagnose diseases faster, creating cleaner transport solutions, or discovering innovations that spawn entirely new industries.

Local leaders, working alongside universities and businesses, are best placed to identify these regional opportunities and turn research breakthroughs into real-world solutions that benefit their communities.

Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:

This fund is our Plan for Change in action. It empowers local leaders, researchers, and businesses with skin in the game to deliver transformational research that creates jobs and improves lives in their area.

Ten regions already have our support and will be able to deliver game-changing innovations to benefit their communities.

Now we’re extending this opportunity to the rest of the country, and I encourage partnerships everywhere to come forward, and show how they can unlock their local expertise to create tomorrow’s innovations.

Consortiums of various forms are encouraged to apply, to ensure regions across the length and breadth of the UK are supported to develop new innovations and drive regional growth.

Ten regions across the UK have already received backing through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. These include established innovation hubs in England such as Greater Manchester, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire, alongside Glasgow City Region in Scotland, Cardiff Capital Region in Wales, and an innovation corridor linking Belfast and Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Each of these areas has been earmarked for at least £30 million to invest in their regional innovation strengths, from advanced manufacturing and life sciences to digital technologies and clean energy, ensuring every nation of the UK benefits from this major government investment in R&D.

This approach builds on the successful Innovation Accelerators programme, which has already brought in more than £140 million of private investment and created hundreds of jobs. Greater Manchester teams are helping detect heart and lung diseases more quickly and cheaply, while Glasgow researchers are working to spot signs of colon cancer earlier to save lives. This shows how researchers, businesses and local leaders can work together to tackle the country’s biggest challenges while boosting local economies.

This funding forms part of the record £86 billion R&D settlement until 2030 and represents a key pillar of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, supporting high-growth sectors in every region. For areas ready to unlock their innovation potential, this competition offers a transformative opportunity to secure the partnerships and investment needed to drive growth and improve lives across the country.

Notes to editors

UKRI will run a 2-stage selection process to identify the most promising partnerships.

Interested areas can submit expressions of interest and find out more about the eligibility criteria. UKRI will then work with shortlisted partnerships to co-develop detailed proposals that demonstrate how they can turn research into real-world solutions. An independent assessment panel will evaluate applications based on their potential for economic impact, strength of local partnerships, and alignment with national priorities.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 2 October 2025.

The Science Minister, Lord Vallance gave a speech at British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Pensions and Private Capital Showcase on 2 October 2025.

Thanks of course to the BVCA which has been a constructive partner to government including through its Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel, led by Kerry Baldwin, and its work to launch the Investment Compact. I want to recognise your role, particularly in keeping this conversation practical and action orientated.

And I want to be clear, now is the time for action. 

It is encouraging to see so many pension investors here. As someone said to me recently, Canadian pensioners have done very well out of investing in UK science and technology companies. We need to do the same for UK pensioners.  

35 years ago in Cambridge, a small team at Acorn Computers created a revolutionary processor design. That innovation became Arm. From a handful of engineers, the business grew into a world leader whose designs power 99 per cent of the world’s smartphones. Arm began in the UK, built on British science and ingenuity – but much of the capital that fuelled its growth came from overseas, and today its primary listing is on NASDAQ in New York.  

There are many other examples of exciting, impactful UK companies doing fantastic work, to which UK investors are underexposed.  

Arm’s story captures both our strengths and our challenge: world-class research and innovation, home to 4 of the world’s top ten universities, great talent, and now more startups than anywhere else in Europe. 

But still too little domestic capital to take enough of our exciting innovation engines to global scale. Today’s Showcase is about changing that. 

We meet at an exciting time. The UK is Europe’s leading destination for tech investment, and we are serious about commercialising and scaling our research. Our Modern Industrial Strategy, with 8 Sector Plans:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Clean Energy Industries
• Creative Industries
• Defence
• Digital and Technologies
• Financial Services
• Life Sciences
• Professional and Business Services

provides the framework. 

And as many people have said to me – unlike previous industrial strategies you don’t need to look in the appendix to find science and technology. It is woven throughout every part and every sector plan. 

All underpinned by smarter investment from our public financial institutions, pro-innovation regulation, stronger procurement signals, an excellent talent and skills pipeline, and by deep partnerships with business and investors.  

The UK ranks third globally for venture capital investment, behind only the US and China, yet has produced only 2 tech firms valued at over £10 billion in the last 50 years — Sage and Arm. But many many more UK inventions and startups have fed growth elsewhere. 

I want to be clear. Unlocking more pension fund investment is central to our mission. This is not just about returns — although it will help deliver greater returns. It is also about fuelling the innovation that underpins UK competitiveness: boosting productivity, strengthening the NHS, advancing defence capability, accelerating the clean energy transition, and scaling UK leadership in life sciences, AI, fintech and sustainability.  

Of course, the UK has deep pools of institutional capital, yet only a fraction reaches our most promising growth companies. UK DC schemes allocate about 0.5% to private equity. By contrast, Australian superannuation funds invest up to 5% in private markets.   

And we know that the proportion of UK capital invested in S&T companies drops dramatically from seed funding through to scale up. 

But – and many thanks to many in this room – we are making progress.  

The Mansion House Accord, the Investment Compact and the BVCA’s Expert Panel’s report have provided structure and ambition, and government has provided capital and support through initiatives such as the British Growth Partnership and LIFTS. Using LIFTS capital and co-investment from Phoenix Group, Schroders’ UK Long-Term Asset Fund has already deployed capital into companies such as Draig Therapeutics working on next generation medicines for neuropsychiatric disorders.  

We’ve seen strong venture inflows – over $16 billion invested into UK start-ups and scale-ups last year, and more than $8 billion raised in the first half of 2025, exceeding France and Germany combined. But IPO activity has fallen sharply: in H1 2025 just £160 million was raised via IPOs in London – a 98 per cent drop compared to H1 2021 and one of the weakest periods in 3 decades – while overseas investors continue to acquire leading UK technology companies, and benefit from the innovation we have developed here.   

So, the challenge is clear: great science, fantastic people, strong early-stage funding – but still too many barriers at scale-up and sustainability.  

That is why we are reforming the UK’s capital markets to ensure high-growth companies can scale and stay here. We are streamlining listing and prospectus rules, removing outdated restrictions on follow-on capital, and have launched PISCES – a new stock-exchange model to help private companies scale and provide a stepping-stone to public markets. 

It is beginning to work but we need to go faster. We get more spin outs and startups every month and every day we don’t fix the scale up deficit we increase the lost opportunity. 

We are pushing better regulation, including through the work of the Regulatory Innovation Office which has cleared away barriers in 4 technology areas and will expand its work over the next year. 

 We are reforming procurement to enable government to be a better customer for innovative SMEs and leveraging public capital through the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank.  

• We have committed £670 million for quantum technologies; £500 million for the Sovereign AI Unit; AI Growth Zones; and invested in computing infrastructure for AI.  
• The Life Sciences Sector Plan will be supported over the lifetime of the Spending Review by government funding of over £2 billion. Alongside the Wellcome trust we will invest £600M in creating the Health Data Research Service to utilise our extraordinary data resources to improve treatments, prevention and cures.  
• Defence will commit a £2.5 billion increase in SME spend by 2028.  
• In clean energy and sustainability we will double investment to £30 billion annually by 2035, including ambitious plans for new nuclear technologies 

Today’s Showcase represents the next phase of that work: connecting pension industry representatives with high-growth companies across defence, life sciences, AI and fintech, cleantech and sustainability.  

Yes – there are good things to invest in, and plenty of them. 

And to support that journey I’m pleased to announce that we have published the second edition of the UK Innovation Clusters Map. This gives a clearer, more comprehensive view of our innovation clusters across the UK and is a practical tool to help investors identify the strongest opportunities. We are pushing the rapid development of the extraordinary Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and the opportunities of the Northern Growth Corridor. 

Arm’s story shows what is possible: a British idea, scaled to global impact.  

Rather than rely solely on overseas capital, we want domestic investment to back the next generation of UK success stories. If we unlock more of our own long-term savings to support UK innovation, the next Arm, the next AstraZeneca, the next Rolls Royce, the next Oxford Nanopore can emerge and be sustainable. Investors and pensions will share in the returns, the NHS will get better treatments faster, and Britain will cement its position as the best place in Europe to scale a company.  

That is the prize before us. But we need to move fast. If you didn’t feel the weight of expectation on your shoulders before you entered the room, I hope you do now.

The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 8 September 2025.

Vulnerable people across the UK will be shielded from the most dangerous content online, as new laws are set to be introduced to prevent devastating self-harm material from reaching people of all ages.

The government has today (8 September) announced urgent action to toughen the Online Safety Act by putting stricter legal requirements on tech companies to hunt down and remove material that encourages or assists serious self-harm, before it can destroy lives and tear families apart.

While platforms already have to take specific steps to protect children from this dangerous self-harm content, the government recognises that adults battling mental health challenges are equally at risk from exposure to material that could trigger a mental health crisis or worse.

The new regulations mean that content encouraging or assisting serious self-harm will be treated as a priority offence for all users.

The change will trigger the strongest possible legal protections, compelling platforms to use cutting-edge technology to actively seek out and eliminate this content before it can reach users and cause irreparable harm, rather than simply reacting after someone has already been exposed to it.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:

This government is determined to keep people safe online. Vile content that promotes self-harm continues to be pushed on social media and can mean potentially heart-wrenching consequences for families across the country.

Our enhanced protections will make clear to social media companies that taking immediate steps to keep users safe from toxic material that could be the difference between life and death is not an option, but the law.

Julie Bentley, Chief Executive of Samaritans, said:

We welcome these efforts to make the Online Safety Act go further to protect both adults and children from dangerous self-harm content. While the internet can be a source of support for people who are struggling, damaging suicide and self-harm content can cost people their lives.

It’s therefore vital that government continues to take opportunities to strengthen the Act and it’s over to Ofcom now to use their powers to hold platforms to account so we can save more lives lost to suicide.

Notes to editors

The regulations will come into force 21 days after they are made, following approval by both Houses of Parliament. We expect this Statutory Instrument (SI) to be laid in the autumn.