Corporate report

DSIT Main Estimate memorandum 2025 to 2026

Published 31 July 2025

This memorandum gives further explanation to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Main Estimate 2025 to 2026. The format of this document follows guidance from the Parliamentary Scrutiny Unit, to provide wider context on the department’s objectives and finances.

1. Overview 

1.1 Objectives 

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has the following priority outcomes: 

1. Driving economic growth: maximising the impact of government action to support R&D and science and technology on the UK’s national and regional economic growth.  

2. Improving the performance and productivity of government: maximising value for money for the taxpayer by applying AI and digital technologies to transform the citizen’s experience of public service by making it more effective, convenient, and productive.  

3. Empowering citizens: maximising the control people can exercise over their interaction with government by widening and deepening their digital skills and their knowledge and trust in digital technology. 

The detail of how spending programmes relate to these priorities is provided in Section 3.1. 

1.2 Spending controls

DSIT’s spending is broken down into several spending totals, for which Parliament’s approval is sought. 

The spending totals which Parliament votes are:

• Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (“Resource DEL”) – expenditure within the current financial year, including day to day running costs. 

• Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (“Capital DEL”) – expenditure on creating or buying assets, where value will extend beyond the current financial year, which for DSIT includes investment in digital infrastructure, and Research and Development (R&D) spending. 

• Resource Annually Managed Expenditure (“Resource AME”) – less predictable day to day spending: in DSIT’s case, mainly movements in the value of provisions and the expenditure of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) Trust. 

• Capital Annually Managed Expenditure (“Capital AME”) – less predictable investment spending: in DSIT’s case, pension valuations. 

In addition, Parliament votes on the net cash requirement, designed to cover the elements of the above budgets, which require DSIT to pay out cash in year.

1.3 Main areas of spending 

The chart below shows the main components of DSIT’s RDEL and CDEL budgets for the year, included in the latest Main Estimate, and the proportions of funds spent on its main activities. 

Resource DEL: total budget £1,0721.1 million 2025 to 2026 

Description	£ million
Depreciation	451.9
Core and agency admin costs	239.5
Digital, broadcasting and media	91.5
Building Digital UK	48.0
Other costs including partners organisations	49.0
Total	£1,0721.1 million

Capital DEL: total budget £14,669.5 million 2025 to 2026 

Description	£ million
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)	8,461.9
UK Research Base including EU Programmes	2,985.2
UK Space Agency	682.4
Other costs	640.0
Building Digital UK	573.6
Met Office	472.8
Government Digital Function	226.2
Science and Society	216.8
National Measurement System (NMS)	204.0
Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)	183.7
Other partner organisations	20.0
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)	2.9
Total	£14,669.5 million

1.4 Comparison of spending totals sought 

The table and chart below show how the totals sought for DSIT in its Main Estimate compare with the last financial year: 

Table 1: Spending total amounts sought for DSIT this year compared with the final budget last year. 

	Main Estimate 2025 to 2026	Difference (+/-) compared to Supplementary Estimate 2024 to 2025 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Supplementary Estimate 2024 to 2025 (%)
Resource DEL	1,072.1	+36.1	+3.5%
Capital DEL	14,669.5	+1,402.5	+10.6%
Resource AME	679.5	+18.2	+2.7%
Capital AME	0.3	0.0	-4.4%

Table 2: Spending total amounts sought for DSIT this year compared with the original budget last year. 

	Main Estimate 2025 to 2026	Difference (+/-) compared to Main Estimate 2024 to 2025 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Main Estimate 2024 to 2025 (%)
Resource DEL	1,072.1	+466.2	+76.9%
Capital DEL	14,669.5	+822.7	+5.9%
Resource AME	679.5	+428.3	+170.5%
Capital AME	0.3	+0.2	+261.1%

^{(Footnote to table): Main Estimate 2024-2025 was presented prior to the Digital Machinery of Government (MoG) transfer from Cabinet Office; therefore associated budgets were not included in Main Estimate 2024-2025 budgets.}

Table 3: Spending total amounts sought for DSIT this year compared with Spending Review. 

	Main Estimate 2025 to 2026	Difference (+/-) compared to Spending Review SR25 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Spending Review SR25 (%)
Resource DEL	1,072.1	+669.5	+166.3%
Capital DEL	14,669.5	+10.3	+0.1%
Resource AME	679.5	+679.5	+100.0%
Capital AME	0.3	+0.3	+100.0%

Figure 1: DSIT budgets, £ million 

1.5 Key drivers of spending changes since last year 

Resource DEL 

There is a net increase in RDEL of £36.1 million in the amount sought in the Main Estimate for 2025-2026, compared to the budget agreed as part of the Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025. The main changes relate to a £38.9 million increase in Resource DEL Admin budgets, reflecting the department’s administration funding requirements in 2025-2026, with the main drivers relating to an increase in Matrix costs.

Capital DEL 

There is a £1,402.5 million increase in CDEL budgets in 2025-2026 compared to the Supplementary Estimates 2024-2025, with main drivers relating to: 

• £1,022.8m increase in Horizon & Copernicus budgets in 2025-2026 compared with 2024-2025, due to part of 2024-2025 costs being brought forward into 2023-2024 and 2025-2026 representing a full year of costs.  

• £189.3 million increase in BDUK budgets driven by the peak delivery phase of Project Gigabit’s most material component, Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS), expected throughout the SR25 period. 

• £154.8 million increase in Research Base budgets due to International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) budgets being currently reported under core subsegments that will be transferred to UKRI in-year (as per final bullet below). There is also a £75 million increase in the Horizon Europe Guarantee budget.  

• £143.7 million increase in Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) budgets, reflecting ARIA’s funding requirements in 2025-2026, aligning to changes in delivery timescales. 

• £142.8million increase in Office for Life Sciences budgets to support the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan under the Industrial Strategy. £70 million reflects the increase in the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) this year, with the remaining increase on existing programmes, including Our Future Health, the Healthcare Goals, and the Metagenomics industry partnership. 

• £669.9 million decrease in UKRI budgets due to managed programmes, including the AI Research Resource (AIRR) and ISPF currently being reported under core subsegments and will be re-allocated internally in-year.  

There is a £18.2 million increase in Capital and Resource AME budget sought compared to the budget agreed as part of the Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025. This is the result of: 

• £108.4 million increase in EU Programmes potential foreign exchange rate movements on forward contracts. 

• £90.8 million decrease across provisions, including NESTA and Research Councils. The budget requirements will be reviewed ahead of Supplementary Estimate to ensure budget requirements reflect the latest market position.  

1.7 Reserve claims and spending pressures 

The following have been identified as spending pressures at Main Estimate and will be reviewed ahead of Supplementary Estimate:

• £2.3 million RDEL Programme in relation to IFRS 16 and Forex costs for UKRI, with UKRI holding only CDEL budgets. 

• £2.5 million RDEL Admin in relation to Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) VAT costs for the Government Digital Service (GDS), relating to the Digital MoG from 2024-2025 and DSIT payments to DESNZ (ICS). 

• £6.0 million CDEL in relation to GDS baseline costs included within the Spending Review (SR25) Phase 1 baseline, for which DSIT is awaiting budget. 

• £16.3 million RDEL Admin which requires a ‘switch’ from RDEL Programme, in relation to classification of GDS costs. 

• £42 million additional funding in relation to AI Exemplars, as announced in the 2025 Spring Statement.

1.8 Funding and other spending announcements 

Confirmation of DSIT’s settlement for 2025-2026 was made at Autumn Budget 2024 (AB24) on 30 October 2024. There was also a series of announcements related to DSIT:

• Investing up to £520 million, with £70 million in 2025-2026, for a new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to drive growth and build resilience for future health emergencies.  

• Over £500 million in 2025-2026 for Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, driving the rollout of digital infrastructure to under-served parts of the UK.  

• Extending the Made Smarter Innovation programme with up to £37 million in funding in 2025-2026 to help firms integrate digital technologies into the manufacturing process.  

• Launching a new multi-year R&D Missions Programme, with at least £25 million of investment in 2025-2026, to solve targeted problems, that will crowd in private and third sector investment to accelerate delivery of each Mission.  

• Investing up to £80 million in 2025-2026 to support the transformation of corporate functions across government to deliver more efficient, cost-effective and modern systems as part of government’s Shared Services Strategy.  

• Supporting the commercialisation of our world-class university research by providing at least £40 million over 5 years for proof-of-concept funding and improvements to support the UK’s cutting-edge research into firms of the future.  

• Extending the Innovation Accelerators programme into 2025-2026 to continue to bolster high-potential innovation clusters in the Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

• Announcing 10-year R&D budgets to create a stable environment for productive long-term partnerships with industry, with these being set out as part of Part 2 of the Spending Review.  

• Creating a National Data Library, that will provide easy, ethical and secure access to public data assets, giving researchers and businesses access to powerful insights that will transform people’s quality of life through better public services and cutting-edge innovation.  

• Establishing the new Regulatory Innovation Office, which will reduce the burden of red tape, speeding up access to new technologies that improve people’s daily lives and unlock growth opportunities.  

• Announcing a review to be led by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), Professor Dame Angela McLean, and National Technology Adviser (NTA), Dr Dave Smith, which will focus on barriers to the adoption of transformative technologies.

The Spring Statement took place on 26 March 2025 and included the following announcement for DSIT: 

• AI Exemplars, where DSIT will receive £42 million additional funding in 2025-26 to test new ways of improving public services and reducing costs through use of Artificial Intelligence. 

1.9 New policies and programmes - ambit changes 

The ambit has been updated to cover latest income and expenditure in relation to UKRI, income relating to investments, and income relating to the activities of the Office for Life Sciences.

1.10 Administration costs and efficiency plans 

At Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025, the administration budget (ring fenced and non-ringfenced) was set at £337.9 million. The Main Estimates budgets reflect the £376.8 million administration budget agreed with HM Treasury for 2025-2026, including changes agreed as part of the Spending Review 2025 Phase 1 in Autumn 2024. The £38.9 million increase mainly relates to budgets for the Matrix programme, with net increase of £35.5 million when compared to 2024-2025 budgets.

Table 3: administration costs - spending total amounts sought this year compared to final and original budgets last year  

	Main Estimate 2025 to 2026 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Supplementary Estimate 2024 to 2025 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Supplementary Estimate 2024 to 2025 (%)	Difference (+/-) compared to Main Estimate 2024 to 2025 (£m)	Difference (+/-) compared to Main Estimate 2024 to 2025 (%)
Administration costs	376.8	+38.9	+11.5%	+202.8	+116.5%

1.11 Spending trends 

The DSIT DEL Spending Trends charts below show overall spending trends for the last four years based on historic data for outturns, and plans presented in the Main Estimate, since the establishment of DSIT.  

Figure 2: DSIT DEL spending trends: 2021 to 2022 to 2025 to 2026 (£m). 

Figure 2 shows outturns for 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budgets, and 2025 to 2026 Main Estimates budgets sought.

DEL budgets 

Capital DEL increases mainly reflect a continuing growth in spend qualifying as R&D since the last Spending Review. The EU Programmes budget has increased by £1 billion in 2025-2026 compared with 2024-2025, due to timing of invoice payments. Non-R&D CDEL programmes spend such as Building Digital UK (BDUK) are expected to increase 2025-2026 budgets by £189 million. 

Resource DEL in 2025-2026 reflects an increase in budget for key programmes including Digital Technologies and Telecoms and the Government Digital Service, following the Digital MoG. 

Figure 3: DSIT AME spending trends: 2021 to 2022 to 2025 to 2025 (£m). 

 

Figure 3 shows outturns for 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budgets, and 2025 to 2026 Main Estimates budgets sought. 

AME budgets 

Resource AME in DSIT is subject to significant fluctuation from year to year due to non-cash costs arising from movements in provisions and the impact of changes to discount rates. The main change in 2025-2026 relates to a £108.4 million increase in EU Programmes potential foreign exchange rate movements on forward contracts, offset by £90.8 million decrease in provisions including NESTA and Research Councils.

2. Spending detail 

As shown in the table in Section 3.1, departmental expenditure may contribute to different strategic objectives. However, due to Parliamentary rules, budgets must be assigned to only one specific Estimate subhead even though spending often contributes to other lines. 

2.1 Explanations of changes in spending

Resource DEL 

The table below shows how DSIT’s spending plans for Resource DEL compare with last year. 

Table 4: Resource DEL spending plans this year compared to last year 

Subhead	Description	2025 to 2026 Main Estimates budget sought (£m)	2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budget approved (£m)	Change from last year (£ m)	Changes from last year (%)	Differences of more than 10% which are more than £10 million (see note number)
A	Deliver an ambitious industrial strategy	6.1	13.5	-7.3	-54.5%	0.0
B	Promote competitive markets and responsible business practices	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0%	0.0
C, I, M	Science and Research	401.3	375.4	25.9	6.9%	0.0
D, J	Capability	326.2	280.1	46.0	16.4%	1
E, K	Government as Shareholder	-14.5	-14.9	0.4	2.9%	0.0
F, L	Support for the Digital, Broadcasting and Media sectors	111.3	159.7	-48.4	-30.3%	2
G	Modernising and reforming the work of the Government Functions	192.3	175.7	16.6	9.5%	no data
H	Building Digital UK	49.3	46.5	2.9	6.2%	0.0
No data	Total voted and non-voted	1,072.1	1,035.9	36.1	3.5%	no data

Note number: 

1. Capability 

Resource DEL spending under these subheads is, overall, £46.0 million, or 16.4% higher in the Main Estimate for 2025-2026 compared to the Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025. The main movements are:  

• £35.0 million additional funding required for Matrix to reflect increased activity in this programme and ‘Budget Cover Transfers’ out to other government departments made at Supplementary Estimate each year. 

• £14.7 million additional funding for increased employers’ National Insurance Contributions in 2025-2026. 

2. Support for the Digital, Broadcasting and Media Sectors

Resource DEL spending under these subheads is, overall, forecast to be £48.4 million, or 30.3% lower at Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025. The main movements are reductions in net budgets across programmes such as National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), Digital Economy and Broadband admin. In addition, with the introduction of the new Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fee model, the DEL budget requirement has reduced.

Capital DEL 

The table below shows how spending plans for Capital DEL compare with last year. 

Table 5: Capital DEL spending plans this year compared to last year 

Subhead	Description	2025 to 2026 Mains Estimates budget sought (£m)	2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budget approved (£m)	Change from last year (£m)	Change from last year (%)	Differences of more than 10% which are more than £10 million; of more than 5% which are more than £200 million; and significant or unusual change (see note number)
A	Deliver an ambitious industrial strategy	602.3	475.5	126.8	26.7%	3
B	Promote competitive markets and responsible business practices	8.1	7.8	0.3	3.8%	no data
C, I, M	Science and Research	12,572.2	11,896.8	675.4	5.7%	4
D, J	Capability	125.5	-14.2	139.4	980.9%	5
E, K	Government as Shareholder	311.4	256.5	54.8	21.4%	6
F, L	Support for the Digital, Broadcasting and Media sectors	250.5	200.9	49.7	24.7%	7
G	Modernising and reforming the work of the Government Functions	226.2	59.3	166.9	281.7%	8
H	Building Digital UK	573.6	384.4	189.3	49.2%	9
No data	Total voted and non-voted	14,669.5	13,267.0	1,402.5	10.6%	no data

Note number:

3. Deliver an Ambitious Industrial Strategy 

Total capital spending under these subheads is forecast to increase by £126.8 million or 26.7% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly due to: 

• £142.8 million increase in Office for Life Sciences budget in 2025-2026 to support the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan under the Industrial Strategy. £70 million reflects the increase in the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) this year, with the remaining increase in spending on existing programmes, including Our Future Health, the Healthcare Goals, and the Metagenomics industry partnership. 

• £148.5 million decrease in Geospatial subsegment in 2025-2026, due to the spend re-mapping into ‘Modernising and reforming the work of the Government Functions’ subheading that captures Government Digital Service budgets. 

• £81.7 million increase for the National Timing Centre (NTC) to deliver a high quality and resilient timing signal as part of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT). 

• £36.6 million increase in Met Office budgets in 2025-2026 largely due to delays in the deployment of Gen1b and Managed Archived Storage System (MASS), resulting in the milestone payment slipping into 2025-2026.

4. Science and Research 

Total capital spending under these subheads is forecast to increase by £675.4 million or 5.7% at the Main Estimate 2025-26 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. The overall increase is a result of R&D capital spend commitments, with main changes relating to: 

• £1,022.8 million increase in Horizon and Copernicus budgets compared with 2024-2025 due to part of 2024-2025 costs being brought forward into 2023-2024, with 2025-2026 representing a full year of costs. 

• £669.9 million decrease in UKRI budgets relating to managed programmes, including AI Research Resource (AIRR) and International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), which are currently reported under core subsegments and will be re-allocated internally in-year.  

• £154.8 million increase in Research Base due to ISPF budgets which are currently reported under core subsegments but will be transferred to UKRI in-year (as above). There is also a £75 million increase in the Horizon Europe Guarantee budget.  

• £143.7 million increase in Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) budgets compared to end of 2024-2025 due to expected increase in the level of activity, following ‘budget cover return’ in 2024-2025, as part of the Spending Review 2025 Phase 1.

5. Capability 

Capital spending under these subheads is overall, forecast to increase by £139.4 million or 980.9% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 when compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly due to early business planning budget allocations, which are subject to further allocation advice and expected to be re-adjusted in-year.

6. Government as Shareholder 

Capital spending under these subheads is, overall, forecast to increase by £54.8 million or 21.4% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly due to an increase in Met Office budgets compared with 2024-2025, due to slippage of supercomputer milestones from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026.

7. Support for the Digital, Broadcasting and Media sectors 

Capital spending under these subheads is, overall, forecast to increase by £49.7 million or 24.7% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly driven by a £50 million increase in Compute budget when compared to Supplementary Estimate budgets.

8. Modernising and reforming the work of the Government Functions 

Capital spending under these subheads is, overall, forecast to increase by £166.9 million or 281.7% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly driven by the Geospatial area moving into this subhead in 2025-2026, with corresponding reduction under ‘Deliver an Ambitious Industrial Strategy’.

9. Building Digital UK 

Capital budget under this subhead will increase by £189.3 million or 49.2% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate. This is mainly driven by the entry into the peak delivery phase of Project Gigabit’s most material component Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS), expected throughout the SR25 period.

Resource AME  

The table below shows how spending plans for Resource AME compare with last year. 

Table 6: Resource AME spending plans this year compared with last year 

Subhead	Description	2025 to 2026 Main Estimates budget sought (£m)	2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budget approved (£m)	Change from last year (£m)	Change from last year (%)	Differences significantly above or below inflation (see note number)
O, Q	Science and Research	662.8	574.0	88.8	15.5%	10
No data	Capability	0.0	0.8	-0.8	-100.0%	no data
N, P	Deliver an ambitious industrial strategy	13.5	79.3	-65.8	-83.0%	11
No data	Government as Shareholder	0.0	1.7	-1.7	-100.0%	no data
No data	Building Digital UK	0.0	0.0	0.0	0%	no data
R	Broadcasting and Media ALB (net)	3.2	5.6	-2.4	-42.6%	no data
No data	Total voted and non-voted	679.5	661.3	18.2	2.8%	no data

Note number: 

10. Science and Research

Resource AME spending on these subheads is forecast to increase by £88.8 million or 15.5% at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the Supplementary Estimate 2023-2024. The main driver for the increase is a budget cover for a foreign exchange volatility relating to forward contract valuation in relation to Horizon and Copernicus.

11. Deliver an Ambitious Industrial Strategy

Resource AME spending on these subheads is forecast to be £65.8 million or 83.0% lower at the Main Estimate 2025-2026 compared to the Supplementary Estimate 2023-2024. This is mainly due to:  

• £40.0 million decrease in Business and Enterprise AME due to budget allocation for Eutelsat impairment in 2024-2025, with the 2025-2026 valuation expected ahead of Supplementary Estimate 2025-2026. 

• £25.8 million decrease in NESTA AME requirements compared to 2024-2025. 

Capital AME 

The table below shows how spending plans for Capital AME compare with last year. 

Table 7: Capital AME spending plans for this year compared with last year 

Subhead	Description	2025 to 2026 Main Estimates budget sought (£m)	2024 to 2025 Supplementary Estimates budget approved (£m)	Change from last year (£m)	Change from last year (%)	See note number
O, Q	Science and Research	0.3	0.2	0.1	30.0%	no data
No data	Capability	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-100%	no data
No data	Total voted and non-voted	0.3	0.3	0.0	-4.4%	no data

2.2 Restructuring 

During 2024-2025, a Machinery of Government (MoG) change moved the legacy organisations of the Government Digital Service (GDS) from Cabinet Office to DSIT. The budget transfer took place at 2024-25 Supplementary Estimate, at which point a new DSIT subhead was set up to reflect this change. Prior years’ values reflect the restated position, that includes GDS within DSIT.  

2.3 Ring fenced budgets 

Within the totals, the following elements are ring fenced i.e. savings in these budgets may not be used to fund pressures on other budgets without express permission from HM Treasury. 

As part of the Estimate process, HM Treasury can agree to relax ring fences, to allow the department to manage pressures and reallocate underspends. 

The department is discussing a revised set of policy ring fences with HM Treasury following the 2023 machinery of government change and will communicate these in future Estimates once they have been agreed.

Table 8: amounts sought this year compared to last year 

	2025 to 2026 Main Estimates (£m)	Change from last year (£m)	Change from last year (%)
Financial transactions Of which:	67.5	61.1	10.5%
British Technology Investments	20.0	20.0	0%
National Measurement Service	6.1	3.6	69.4%
Met Office	-14.2	-5.4	-163.0%
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)	22.0	40.0	-45.0%
Other	-2.5	2.9	-400.0%
Depreciation	451.9	451.9	0%

^{(Footnote to table) Supplementary Estimate 2024-2025 depreciation budgets have been restated to reflect final agreed budgets.} 

2.4 Changes to contingent liabilities 

The schedule of contingent liabilities is listed in Annex B Part III: Note K of the Estimate.  

This schedule relates to liabilities recognised at the time of issuing this document with a complete audited schedule to be published in the Annual Report and Accounts.  

The estimate for current contingent liabilities which were disclosed at the 2024-2025 Supplementary Estimate have either moved by de minimis amounts or remained unquantifiable. 

3. Priorities and performance 

3.1 How spending relates to objectives 

Outcome 1: Driving economic growth: maximising the impact of government action to support R&D and science and technology on the UK’s national and regional economic growth

Estimates subheads: A,N, P,  B,   C,I,M,O,Q     

Outcome 2: Improving the performance and productivity of government: maximising value for money for the taxpayer by applying AI and digital technologies to transform the citizen’s experience of public service by making it more effective, convenient, and productive

Estimates subheads: D,J, E,K, G   

Outcome 3: Empowering citizens: maximising the control people can exercise over their interaction with government by widening and deepening their digital skills and their knowledge and trust in digital technology

Estimates subheads: F,L,R,  H 

3.2 Measures of performance against each priority 

DSIT measures performance for the department against its high-level objectives. 

3.3  Major projects 

The department is responsible for several major projects: 

• Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme 

• Matrix Cluster Transformation Programme 

• Open Networks Programme 

• Project Gigabit 

• Shared Rural Network 

• National Underground Asset Register 

• One Login 

• National Timing Centre (due to be added April/ May 2025). 

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority reports annually on delivery of major projects. See the data for DSIT.

4. Other information 

4.1 Additional specific information required by the Select Committee 

Table 9: breakdown of administration budget - spending total amounts sought this year compared to the final budget last year 

Administration budget	Main Estimate 2025 to 2026 (£m)	Change from last year (£m)	Change from last year (%)
Wages and salaries / Purchase of goods and services / other	348.2	308.2	13%
Depreciation	17.1	17.1	0%
Total core department and Agency administration	365.3	325.3	12%
UKRI (depreciation)	0.0	0.0	0%
Information Commissioners office	0.0	1.0	-100%
Information Commissioners office (depreciation)	3.3	3.3	0%
Ofcom (depreciation)	8.2	8.2	0%
UK Shared Business Services	0.0	0.0	0%
Total partner organisations administration	11.5	12.5	-8%
Total administration budget	376.8	337.9	12%

5. Accounting Officer approval 

This memorandum has been prepared according to the requirements and guidance set out by the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit, available on the Scrutiny Unit website.

This memorandum has been prepared according to the requirements and guidance set out by the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit, available on the Scrutiny Unit website.

The information in this Estimates Memorandum has been approved by myself as departmental Accounting Officer.

Sarah Munby
Accounting Officer
Permanent Secretary
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

7 May 2025