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Comment and Society

Will the UK's new science and tech department achieve anything?

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, headed by Michelle Donelan, is intended to show the UK government is serious about these fields, but a reshuffle is no substitute for a clear plan, says Kieron Flanagan

By Kieron Flanagan

8 February 2023

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak

Shutterstock/Shag 7799

The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has created a new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), seemingly putting these fields at the heart of UK government policy for the first time in decades. The move has been broadly welcomed by those who have called for more emphasis on science and technology in government, but will it really make a difference?

A dedicated department has certainly been a long time coming. Back in 1964, the then prime minister, Harold Wilson, created the Ministry of Technology …

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