Saqib Bhatti

The next Research Excellence Framework (REF) is currently being developed by Research England and the three Devolved higher education funding bodies, in collaboration with the higher education sector.

Since the funding bodies initial proposals for REF 2029 were issued in June 2023 plans for the REF have been amended in response to feedback from universities and other stakeholders. This development process will continue until final guidance is set in 2026.

As set out in the King’s Speech, the Government will establish legislation to ensure the safe development of AI models by introducing targeted requirements on companies developing the most powerful AI systems. This legislation will build on the voluntary commitments secured at the Seoul and Bletchley AI Safety Summits and will strengthen the role of the AI Safety Institute. As part of the development of this legislation, the Government will launch a full public consultation shortly, working with industry, AI experts, academics, and civil society to hone our proposals before presenting them to Parliament.

We are looking forward to working with France as they organise the AI Action Summit, taking place on 10 and 11 February 2025. France have outlined there are five tracks for the Summit: Trust in AI, Global Governance, Innovation, Public Interest and Future of Work. Each track has a working group which we are a part of, and we look forward to contributing to the summit across these themes. We will share more details about France’s plans for the summit, including on specific areas of discussion and agenda, as and when they become available.

It is a scandal that the previous government did not introduce a digital inclusion strategy for ten years.

Digital inclusion is a priority for my department and for government, and work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and coordinate across government departments. Digital inclusion means ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

Government will work closely with the third sector, devolved administrations, businesses and local authorities, many of whom have already implemented highly successful programmes, to ensure interventions are collaborative and targeted to individual needs.

It is a scandal that the previous government did not introduce a digital inclusion strategy for ten years.

Digital inclusion is a priority for my department and for government, and work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and coordinate across government departments. Digital inclusion means ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

Government will work closely with the third sector, devolved administrations, businesses and local authorities, many of whom have already implemented highly successful programmes, to ensure interventions are collaborative and targeted to individual needs.

Digital inclusion is a key priority for the government and it is shocking that the previous government’s out-of-date digital inclusion strategy was published a full decade ago, despite clear evidence that digital exclusion limits economic growth and harms individuals’ chances to study, work and participate fully in society and the modern economy.

Alongside the duties the Online Safety Act places on social media platforms to minimise harmful content, including illegal disinformation, we need to enhance media literacy, so that users are more resilient online. Part of having the requisite skills to navigate the online world safely is the ability to engage critically with misleading content.

It is a scandal that the previous government did not introduce a digital inclusion strategy for ten years.

Digital inclusion is a priority for my department and for government, and work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and coordinate across government departments. Digital inclusion means ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

Government will work closely with the third sector, devolved administrations, businesses and local authorities, many of whom have already implemented highly successful programmes, to ensure interventions are collaborative and targeted to individual needs.

It is a scandal that the previous government did not introduce a digital inclusion strategy for ten years.

Digital inclusion is a priority for my department and for government, and work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and coordinate across government departments. Digital inclusion means ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

Government will work closely with the third sector, devolved administrations, businesses and local authorities, many of whom have already implemented highly successful programmes, to ensure interventions are collaborative and targeted to individual needs.

Under the Online Safety Act, companies will be forced to take action against illegal content online. The Foreign Interference Offence, a priority offence in the Act, will require companies to tackle a wide range of state-linked interference online, and platforms will be faced with enforcement action from Ofcom in case of non-compliance.

The department engages regularly with social media platforms to discuss state sponsored activity online. This includes flagging content that violates platforms’ terms of service for swift review and working with them to ensure their terms of service are fit for purpose.

The government is committed to keeping children safe online and we will continue to work with campaigners, charities, industry, and the regulator to achieve this goal. Our priority is the quick and effective implementation of the Online Safety Act to ensure that children benefit from the wide-reaching protections of the Act.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the internet, and social media in particular, is safe for UK users, especially children. Whilst technology companies have a key role in accelerating innovation, investment and productivity across the UK, they must also accept their responsibility to keep people safe on their platforms. I engage frequently with those companies and I am committed to working with them as we continue to implement the Online Safety Act.

It is a scandal that the previous government did not introduce a digital inclusion strategy for ten years.

Digital inclusion is a priority for my department and for government, and work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and coordinate across government departments. Digital inclusion means ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

Government will work closely with the third sector, devolved administrations, businesses and local authorities, many of whom have already implemented highly successful programmes, to ensure interventions are collaborative and targeted to individual needs.

In developing our plans, we will consider the impact of digital exclusion on all our communities, including Jewish and Muslim communities across the country.

We are working at pace to deliver a Digital inclusion national action plan for publication in early December, we are unable to announce this publicly but want to assure that digital inclusion is a priority for government.

The Service Standard and the Technology Code of Practice require government teams to make sure that services are accessible to all users, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet or lack the skills and confidence to use the internet.

Accessibility auditing and research with disabled users are expected to be included within the funding to build and run every government service.

The new Digital Centre will drive greater inclusion and accessibility to government services.

The Government has committed to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. We are currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science as to how we will take this commitment forward. This will include consideration of how the impact of any actions will be assessed.

The Government has committed to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. This includes all animals protected by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, including those with special protection.

We are currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science as to how we will take this commitment forward. This has included a meeting with representatives from the agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, and a meeting with government scientists and regulators, including MHRA, APHA, FSA, EA and UKHSA. Further engagement will take place as this work develops.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing and discussions on this subject are already underway. It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science led, in lock step with partners, and so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of this Framework, which is being delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is working to further refine and develop the Framework. Through Innovate UK, it will continue to work with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and in due course with Skills England, to monitor the impact of applying this Framework.

This Government is committed to maximising UK participation in Horizon Europe. The Government is working with key stakeholders on plans to boost UK participation and encourage the international R&D community to collaborate with UK organisations. This includes funding support (pump priming) delivered through the British Academy and Innovate UK, to encourage effective uptake in opportunities. The Government continues to raise awareness of Horizon Europe, including via the roadshow series, most recently hosted in Birmingham and Glasgow. The next event will be in Northern Ireland in October. DSIT also encourages the R&D community to actively engage in their own initiatives aimed at enhancing participation.

Given the global nature of semiconductor supply chains, creating opportunities for businesses to establish international relationships is crucial for the UK’s growth. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology works to make these connections. The National Technology Advisor, Dr Dave Smith, recently led the UK delegation to SEMICON Taiwan. This included representation from a Department for Business and Trade Mission and an Innovate UK Global Business Innovation Programme – both featuring UK semiconductor businesses. The Department will also work with the Department for Business and Trade ahead of the upcoming trade mission to India in November.

In Autumn 2023, DSIT set up the Central AI Risk Function (CAIRF), which brings together policymakers and AI experts with a mission to continuously identify, assess and prepare for risks associated with AI. One of the CAIRF's critical responsibilities is to develop and maintain the UK Government’s AI Risk Register. The register was introduced in 2023 and identifies individual risks associated with AI that could impact the UK spanning national security, the economy and society. The register helps the Government track these risks and reduce their impact and likelihood.

The Secretary of State was delighted to meet the Manchester Prize Round 1 finalists at a DSIT-hosted workshop. Hearing how their projects were progressing and understanding how these solutions could benefit the UK public and stimulate economic growth underlined the importance of the Manchester Prize to supporting innovation. DSIT has awarded these teams with £100,000 in funding, and an additional £90,000 for spending on compute, to develop solutions capable of winning the £1 million grand prize in early 2025.

We are also supporting teams with a non-financial package to maximise their chances of developing successful solutions, including access to relevant public sector organisations, innovator workshops and guidance on mitigating the ethical risks associated with their solutions. Even for teams who don't ultimately win the grand prize, this package of support is designed to place them in a strong position to grow and succeed.

This government recognises the strategic importance of semiconductors as a critical technology for the future of the UK and a significant enabler of the government’s growth and clean energy missions. We have announced our plan to align key government finance institutions, such as the UK Infrastructure Bank, under the National Wealth Fund, which will boost growth and unlock investment in sectors like the semiconductor industry.

The government is working at pace to establish the National Wealth Fund and the Chancellor will set out more detail at the international investment summit in October.

This Government recognises skills as an essential lever to maximise the potential of our semiconductor sector, drive growth and create high-quality jobs across the whole of the UK. I regularly meet with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and our departments will work together to secure our future talent pipeline for the UK’s priority technology sectors, including in semiconductors. The recently announced Skills England will play a vital role in uniting government, business, training providers, and unions to address the skills needs of the next decade.

This government recognises the strategic importance of semiconductors as a critical technology for the future of the UK and a significant enabler of the government’s growth and clean energy missions. The Department recognises a number of challenges to growth of the UK semiconductor sector, including industry fragmentation and a lack of long-term innovation strategy. We are currently reviewing a range of options to address this and unlock growth in the sector, including the National Semiconductor Institute. We will announce further details in due course.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) established the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT) to provide advice to academia on national security risks in international collaborations. RCAT is central to managing research security concerns proportionately, and to supporting growth in research wherever possible.

The threats facing research are evolving and becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, DSIT is leading a review which is assessing the efficacy of all protections currently in place and considering future needs.

The outcomes of the review and future plans for RCAT will be announced in due course.

UK semiconductor research is exceptional and is a driving force for growth in the wider semiconductor sector. The government will support semiconductor innovation and commercialisation activities from foundational research to enabling sustainable company growth. The Innovation and Knowledge Centres are already helping world-class academics conduct commercially oriented semiconductor research. Our partnerships with the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea and our participation in the EU Chips Joint Undertaking enable UK researchers to collaborate internationally on cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

The Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult plays a vital role in accelerating the development of compound semiconductor technology and applications. In 2023/24, it received a core grant of £17 million from Innovate UK. It is a strong example of government, industry and academia working together and will continue to play a central part in delivering our commitment to accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science and research.

The Government is funding the Digital Security by Design programme with over £80 million, alongside a £200 million from the private sector, to foster collaboration among academia, industry and government to develop CHERI (Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions). CHERI enhances memory-safe in semiconductor chips. Memory safety issues cause 70% of critical vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber criminals as well as being responsible for unintended, and widespread, economic disruption. The Government works with international partners to promote memory-safe principles and continues to fund academic and industry programmes to make CHERI more widely available for commercial implementation.

One of the Government’s five missions is to grow the UK economy, including by providing an Intellectual Property (IP) system that encourages investment in creativity and innovation for the benefit of society. The Intellectual Property Office’s strategy sets out how it will shape an IP system that supports UK and global innovation and ensure that intellectual property rights are respected nationally and internationally. Greater confidence in global IP systems will make it worthwhile for UK businesses to patent their inventions internationally.

The programme remains subject to HMG business case approvals, and we will provide further updates in due course.

The next UK launch will be delivered by Rocket Factory Augsburg from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland later this year. This will be the first vertical launch from the UK and will be a significant step for the UK space sector. Several UK spaceports are now in, or close to being, in operation.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing. Discussions on this subject are already underway, but no specific timetable has been published. The Government, via UK Research & Innovation, continues to fund the development of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research through the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs).

The Government is committed to building on the UK’s world-class strengths in the semiconductor sector to accelerate growth and unlock real-world benefits for UK citizens. Our focus is on enhancing the UK’s enabling environment to make this a top place to sustainably grow a business in the semiconductor sector, including support for innovation, skills and commercialisation. Deepening collaboration with international partners, including the EU and G7, is a key part of this approach and will ensure that the UK continues to be a credible player on the international stage.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing. Any policy changes as a result of this work will be assessed appropriately.