The Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme evaluation has been commissioned independently through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and is entirely independent of Eli Lilly and Company. The evaluation team is currently working with funded projects to understand service delivery models and planned data collection, with the final evaluation framework being developed by Autumn 2026. The findings of this independent evaluation will inform national decision-making, including future evidence requirements, and the outputs of the independent evaluation will be disseminated and made publicly available as appropriate.

The government’s Modern Industrial Strategy focuses on frontier technologies and eight key growth sectors. Since January, progress on research infrastructure has included:

• Up to £250 million to expand access to cloud through the AI Research Resource (AIRR).
• Launch of the Zenith AI supercomputer at the University of Cambridge, supported by £36 million of joint DSIT and UK Research and Innovation investment.
• A £51.2 million investment for a new National Cryogenics Facility in Daresbury which will support quantum computing scale up.
• A further £110 million for the UK Telecoms Lab, dedicated to national security testing and research of advanced connectivity technologies.

The Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme includes evaluation activity to assess programme outcomes, funded from within the programme's budget. The programme's 12 funded projects will generate real-world evidence on innovative approaches to obesity care, supported by a national evaluation and Community of Practice to share learning across the NHS. The findings will help inform future obesity services and commissioning decisions.

Government, Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office have been clear that age assurance methods should be safe, proportionate and secure and that services must minimise the use of personal data, only collecting and retaining it where necessary and proportionate for age assurance purposes. Organisations failing to comply with data protection requirements may be subject to regulatory enforcement action.

Ofcom is due to publish a report on age assurance in July 2026, including its effectiveness in relation to the processing of personal data.

Government, Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office have been clear that age assurance methods should be safe, proportionate and secure and that services must minimise the use of personal data, only collecting and retaining it where necessary and proportionate for age assurance purposes. Organisations failing to comply with data protection requirements may be subject to regulatory enforcement action.

Ofcom is due to publish a report on age assurance in July 2026, including its effectiveness in relation to the processing of personal data.

The UK‑Germany Strategic Science and Technology Partnership is designed to strengthen bilateral collaboration on key technologies, providing opportunities for researchers and businesses in the UK, including those based in Northern Ireland, to benefit from leading cutting-edge research and development with German partners. All relevant UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) initiatives, such as the lead agency agreement between the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the German Research Foundation, are open to applicants from across the whole of the UK.

We recently announced a £1.1 billion AI Hardware Plan to back British firms developing the chips and computing power behind AI. This includes our Advance Market Commitment to equip the UK’s AI Research Resource (AIRR) with powerful next generation inference chips. AIRR provides dedicated access to the AI Security Institute and the Sovereign AI Unit, including reserved compute resource for mission-critical AI safety research, and allocated capacity for strategically selected UK AI startups. Over 600 UK projects have already been supported through AIRR infrastructure, and we are further investing £2 billion to expand our public compute offering.

We are also engaging with industry and partners across the compute ecosystem to support a competitive and resilient compute market, helping to improve availability and affordability for British businesses.

In 2025, the UK's AI sector once again attracted the third highest level of private investment in the world, maintaining our position as the largest recipient of AI investment in Europe. [Source: ai_index_report_2026.pdf]

Maintaining a positive and transparent dialogue between government and the public will help society make informed decisions about engineering biology, including technologies like gene editing. In August 2024, DSIT surveyed 3,000 UK adults to gain insight into their understanding and their perceptions of engineering biology. The survey results show that there is limited public awareness of engineering biology, but that people are likely to be optimistic about using engineering biology to solve societal challenges. Now, DSIT is delivering a UK-wide public dialogue. 56 participants have been recruited across all four UK nations. The outcomes from this will shape the Government’s approach to responsible innovation and public engagement for engineering biology.

The government is committed to building a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity. As part of this ambition, DSIT has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030. AI Skills Boost is designed to be accessible for everyone across the UK, providing free, online access to foundational AI training. Over 1.7 million courses have already been delivered across the UK.

Through the Regulatory Innovation Office, Government has heard from businesses that barriers such as fragmentation between regulators and unclear regulatory pathways hold back adoption of innovative technologies. The RIO works to identify and address specific barriers across priority sectors like defence tech, AI in health and robotics. More broadly, the Government is modernising the regulatory system through the Regulating for Growth Bill and by cutting the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25%.

This Government is committed to making the UK the leading adopter of AI in the G7, so that businesses and workers can realise its full benefits.

To drive adoption across our key sectors, we have appointed AI Sector Champions to work with industry to identify barriers and unlock investment, and to develop sector-led adoption plans. At the recent AI Adoption Summit, our Champions published five of these plans, showcasing what effective AI adoption looks like in practice so that others can follow. The Government has committed over £200 million to deliver leading recommendations from the AI Champions’ plans including by expanding Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme across the Industrial Strategy sectors. This is complemented by our AI Skills Boost programme, which will equip 10 million workers with essential AI skills by 2030.

Cyber security standards are a key part of the government’s approach to ensure technology is secure by design. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) regularly participates in a variety of standards bodies including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ETSI, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), alongside global industry, academia, foreign governments and regulators. This includes for emerging technology areas such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The UK was part of the group of countries that contributed to the development of ETSI standards EN 303 645 on IOTs and EN 304 223 on AI Cyber Security, with the former being the basis for the UK’s Product Security and Telecoms Infrastructure Act to improve the security of connected devices, and enforced by the relevant regulator (Office for Product Safety and Standards).

We have committed up to £2 billion to support the development of the UK's quantum sector. This includes £1 billion committed over the next four years to support our leading companies and researchers, with up to a further £1 billion to procure large-scale UK-built quantum computers by the early 2030s.

Applied and foundational research will continue to be vital to the success of the quantum sector to achieve our ambitious quantum missions. We are investing across the ecosystem over the Spending Review period and beyond, including:

• over £175 million to support academic-led research, research skills, and quantum programmes in our national labs;

• over £160 million for collaborative research and development;

• £90 million for scale-up infrastructure, to support both research and manufacturing; and

• providing academics with access to quantum computing platforms through the National Quantum Computing Centre.

Beyond quantum specific funding, the UKRI funding model protects £14.5 billion of dedicated funding for curiosity-driven research over the Spending Review period, some pf which could be used to fund quantum research.

The UK‑Germany Strategic Science and Technology Partnership was launched alongside the Kensington Treaty in July 2025 to accelerate the development of transformative technologies through closer UK-Germany collaboration. Early outcomes include £6 million joint funding for quantum research and development, investment in applied photonics research in Glasgow to help businesses bring new products to market, and an AI partnership between centres in Edinburgh and Stuttgart to speed up AI adoption in industry and the public sector.

DSIT plays a central role in delivering the National Security Strategy by helping to ensure the UK’s science and technology base is secure, resilient and aligned with national security objectives.

Since its publication, the department has strengthened its international partnerships in priority technologies to support UK growth and security, including through strategic science and innovation partnerships with Germany and the Netherlands and the UK-Japan Industrial Strategy Partnership.

The United States is our close ally and tech partner, and we are committed to ensuring that bond delivers real benefits for hardworking people on both sides of the Atlantic.

We continue to have ministerial-level discussions with the US administration on science and technology, including on joint initiatives in the Tech Prosperity Deal.

This Government is committed to removing barriers to growth.

We are unlocking finance via pension and capital‑markets reforms, while the British Business Bank increases annual investment to £2.5 billion and commits £5 billion to growth‑stage funds. We are investing in skills, compute, and AI Growth Zones and have committed £38.6 billion to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) over five years, including £7.4 billion for innovative companies' growth. For example, UKRI have granted £131,000 to Currie Young Limited in Newcastle-under-Lyme to transform insolvency services by integrating AI across their business processes. UKRI are also investing £18 million in the Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry, a consortium of researchers, manufacturers, and end-users led by the Lucideon Group, based in Stoke-on-Trent.

These measures represent a comprehensive plan, with record funding, to support growth across the UK.

We established the Women in Tech Taskforce to identify and address the barriers preventing women from entering, staying in, and progressing in tech.

This is a matter of principle; it makes economic sense and is essential to ensure the tech and services of tomorrow work for all.

Informed by evidence, its work and recommendations will support more women in all parts of the UK to access high quality jobs in the tech sector.

Alongside this, the £187 million TechFirst programme is supporting thousands of people into tech careers, with a specific focus on increasing opportunities for women across the country. This includes the TechFirst Women's Programme, which will support 300 women into tech jobs across the country, regional funding connecting people to local tech jobs, and targeted competitions and scholarship opportunities to encourage more women and girls into the sector.

What discussions she has had with the science and technology sector on closer regulatory alignment with the EU.

European tech leaders in some member states are concerned that the EU’s approach to digital regulation is strangling their ability to compete. Will the Minister rule out binding the UK tech industry to a legal framework that could stifle growth in this vital area of the economy?