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Council for Science and Technology: meeting minutes, March 2026

Published 23 June 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-for-science-and-technology-meeting-minutes-march-2026/council-for-science-and-technology-meeting-minutes-march-2026

Attendees

  • Julia Black (Day two)
  • Sophie Boldon (Day one)
  • John Browne (Chair)
  • Mark Enzer
  • Lynn Gladden (Day one)
  • Jim Hall
  • Ted Hayden
  • Matthew Henty
  • Alexandra Jones (Day one)
  • Saul Klein (Day one)
  • Avid Larizadeh Duggan
  • John Lazar
  • Nick McKeown
  • Andrew Morris
  • Paul Nurse
  • Nigel Shadbolt
  • Richard Slater
  • Dave Smith
  • Susan Smith (Day one)
  • Paul Taylor (Day one)
  • Tom Wells (Day two)
  • Hattie Willoughby (Day two)
  • Jane Williams

Apologies

  • Priya Lakhani
  • Angela McLean

Guests

  • Julia Sutcliffe, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Business and Trade
  • Sharon Todd, Chief Executive Officer, Society of Chemical Industry
  • Helen Pain, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Mary Jones, Director for AI Strategy, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
  • Kathleen Fisher, Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)
  • Dan Cole, Chief of Staff, Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)
  • Jacques Carolan, Programme Director, Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)

Day one:

1. Lord Browne opened the meeting and noted apologies.

2. Government officials updated members on the delivery of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) priorities, including the Commercial Innovation Hub and the Chancellor’s Mais Lecture.

3. Members discussed progress on the following projects:

  • Members noted ongoing cross‑government and external engagement on photonics to support implementation of CST’s recommendations.

  • Members shared progress following the publication of CST’s advice on AI chips, including the expansion of government funded student bursaries.

  • Members updated on ongoing collaboration with Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) following CST’s advice on climate adaptation and resilience to scope a climate adaptation dashboard that monitors and models climate risks and impacts over time.

4. Members welcomed Professor Julia Sutcliffe, Sharon Todd, and Dr Helen Pain to the meeting and discussed the following themes relating to challenges facing the UK chemical sector and potential interventions:

  • The lack of strategic clarity regarding domestic chemical needs and the sector’s role in economic security.

  • The impact of high gas costs in the UK relative to international competitors, aging infrastructure, high entry barriers and lack of capital which challenge businesses and prevent them scaling and decarbonising.

  • The integrated nature of the sector meaning that clusters of capability are important to address in any future plans.

  • The importance of a whole sector perspective, including skills, innovation and materials, and the urgent need for cross‑government collaboration to address these challenges to reverse decline in the sector.

  • The need to raise the profile of chemical sector challenges and risks with decision makers and encourage government to develop a clear sector vision.

5. Members agreed on the importance of UK discovery science and the importance of measuring the impact of discovery science as value can take decades to materialise. CST agreed to scope a project on R&D.

Day two:

1. Members discussed delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the following themes:

  • Emerging trends in AI development and innovation, including progress in agentic AI, investment in workforce and hardware, and regulation to drive trust and adoption.

  • The importance of high‑quality, well‑governed data and data infrastructure for success.

  • The importance of sovereign AI capability and how to most effectively build an AI ecosystem in the UK.

Members agreed to scope a project on AI working with government officials.

2. Members welcomed Kathleen Fisher, Dan Cole, and Jacques Carolan to the meeting. Kathleen reflected on ARIA’s early progress and future direction. Members discussed how ARIA can ensure programmes deliver on translation and impact and the persistent barriers to scaling innovative companies in the UK.

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