The Government has merged the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to form the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (DBIST).
The amalgamated Department will be led by former Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
In a written ministerial statement, Lord Privy Seal Baroness Angela Smith said:
This move recognises that technology and innovation are not separate sectors of our economy — they are the foundation of all future industry, culture, and public service delivery.
DBIST will take on responsibility for emerging sectors in addition to its new innovation and science briefs, she continued, with the changes aligning the UK’s science and research base directly with commercial application and job creation.
Mr Reynolds said that DBIST would not represent a radical departure from previous models.
Insisting that science would not be a secondary issue in the revised Department, he said:
It will be at the forefront of the business department, working alongside our trade policy consistently with our industrial strategy, our plan for small business, what we’re doing in terms of market-access arrangements with other countries.
Moving forward, the goals of the DBIST are to drive good growth, good jobs and opportunity across the UK. It will support businesses to invest, innovate, export and grow, powered by science and technology.
