The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published a voluntary Software Security Code of Practice, co-designed with the National Cyber Security Centre and co-sealed by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. The Code sets out clear expectations for the security and resilience of software used by organisations and businesses. It outlines 14 key principles that software vendors are expected to implement to establish a consistent baseline of software security and resilience across the market. The Code is also intended to help vendors and their customers mitigate the risks and impact of software supply chain attacks and other resilience incidents, which often stem from avoidable weaknesses in software development and maintenance practices.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) has published its outcome to its consultation on draft regulations for sections 61–64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (PSTI 2022). The consultation addressed saving and transitional provisions for existing tenancies affected by the Renewals Provisions, which change the market valuation framework to align with the Electronic Communications Code’s ‘no network’ valuation model. DSIT has decided to introduce a lead-in period between making and commencement of the regulations, bringing sections 61 to 64 into force on 7 April 2026. This is intended to allow stakeholders time to familiarise themselves with the changes, provide certainty for negotiations already under way and support alignment with section 65 of PSTI 2022, which will enable affected disputes in England and Wales to be dealt with by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published its response to the consultation on a draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum and postal services. The statement sets out the final strategic priorities and the outcomes it expects Ofcom to deliver when exercising its statutory functions. DSIT summarises stakeholder feedback and explains the amendments made. These include stronger references to proportionate, evidence-based regulation, support for the ‘fair bet’ principle to protect infrastructure investment, closer monitoring of market consolidation, and a commitment to review the Broadband Universal Service Obligation.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Office for Life Sciences have published an evaluation of the Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund (MDMTF) and the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), covering projects funded through the 2021–22 calls for proposals. The evaluation, conducted by Ipsos, assessed £73.7 million in capital grants awarded to 15 life sciences manufacturing projects through process evaluation, early impact evaluation and value for money components. It found that eight of the 15 projects showed strong or reasonable evidence of investment additionality, with grants helping to secure UK investment that would otherwise have been delayed, reduced in scale or located overseas. The schemes also created or safeguarded 380 jobs across projects with clear investment additionality and supported UK health resilience through increased manufacturing capacity for essential medicines. The evaluation estimates a programme-level benefit-cost ratio of between 1.9 – 2.7 and recommends greater clarity on strategic objectives, more transparency in the application process and streamlined due diligence procedures to inform delivery of the successor LSIMF 2025–30 programme.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published an explanatory memorandum on the new EU geographical indications protection scheme for craft and industrial products, Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 (the GI Regulation). This DSIT publication follows the EU's notification to the UK, in accordance with Article 13(4) of the Windsor Framework (the Framework), that it considers the GI Regulation to be within scope of the Framework. However, the GI Regulation does not amend or replace any of the Acts listed in the Framework's Annexes. As such, the EU proposes that it be added to the Framework through agreement at the UK-EU Joint Committee. The GI Regulation is therefore subject to the UK's decision on whether to agree that the relevant rules will apply in Northern Ireland (NI) under the Article 13(4) procedure at the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, subject also to the democratic safeguards contained within the Framework. The explanatory memorandum examines the implications of the Directive for NI and concludes, among other things, that there would be no financial implications for the authorities of NI.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published its response to the Growing Up in the Online World consultation, confirming a package of measures to strengthen online safety for children. The DSIT has decided to introduce default protections for 16 and 17-year-olds on social media, including overnight access restrictions between midnight and 6 am, muted push notifications overnight and autoplay and personalised feeds switched off by default. It also plans to introduce additional safeguards for children using artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, including mandatory regular breaks for under-18s and action against chatbots that share harmful mental health advice where other regulatory and safety mechanisms are insufficient. The government notes that it will also require in-scope online services to take robust steps to detect and respond to underage circumvention and place mobile phones in schools on a statutory footing. The first regulations covering social media services offering services to under-16s will be laid before Parliament by the end of 2026 and are intended to come into effect in early 2027.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published a joint letter by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation and Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care responding to recommendations made by the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) on the regulation of neurotechnology. The report on neurotechnology to which the government is responding has a focus on medical device regulation, which is an area of ongoing reform. Among others, the government has committed to reviewing existing guidance and is considering generating novel guidance orientated towards neurotechnology as an end-to-end product. The government also intends to introduce requirements on entire equivalence on a biological, technical and clinical basis. In line with RHC’s recommendations, the government intends to introduce similar requirements to the EU Medical Device Regulations (MDR): Annex XVI where there is benefit to the UK. Devices without an intended medical purpose, which have similar functionality and patient risk profiles to products that have a stated medical purpose will be brought into scope of existing regulations.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) have published ‘Responsible AI in Recruitment’ guidance. It centres on ensuring good practice for the procurement and deployment of AI systems for HR and recruitment. It specifically focuses on technologies used in the hiring process, such as sourcing, screening, interview and selection. AI can automate and simplify these processes. However, it also highlights risks such as perpetuating existing biases, digital exclusion, and discriminatory job advertising and targeting.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published an independent report, commissioned from BMG Research, examining how children aged 11–17 experience age assurance online. The report investigates three key areas: (1) the experiences and perceived effectiveness of online age checks; (2) the common methods and motivations for circumventing these checks and (3) the factors driving children to use virtual private networks (VPNs), along with the ways they access them. Commissioned to build an evidence base for DSIT and Ofcom, the research aims to inform future policy development on children’s online age assurance, circumvention behaviours and VPN use. The report includes weighted data tables and its findings and recommendations do not reflect government views or policy.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has released the interim International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) following its commission at the Bletchey Park AI Safety Summit in November 2023. The report unites a diverse global team of AI experts, including an Expert Advisory Panel from 30 leading AI nations and representatives of the UN and the EU, to collate research on AI capabilities and risks. The report notes the risk of harm eg using AI to create large-scale disinformation campaigns, fraud, and scams and wider risks such as labour market disruption, and economic power imbalances and inequalities. The report does highlight a lack of universal agreement among AI experts on topics such as the state of current AI capabilities and their potential evolution. The report also explores the differing opinions on the likelihood of extreme risks which could impact society such as large-scale unemployment, AI-enabled terrorism, and a loss of control over the technology.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published its response to the 2021 Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy call for evidence and has also provided an update regarding its progress on the Science and Technology Framework. The DSIT took into consideration the responses and recommendations received from the call for evidence and provided a comprehensive plan on how the sector will work together to enhance the research system. The DSIT also provided an overview of how systems are being streamlined and how funders are developing better ways to process data and reduce bureaucracy in its response. The update on the Science and Technology Framework tracks the progress of the Framework since its launch in 2023 and highlighted how the government is providing funding for research and development in the Life Sciences sector in the UK, which includes over £19.4bn from 2023–2024. The update also showed how the government has been supporting top researchers with innovation and more job opportunities.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published its letter to Ofcom addressing its concerns over the regulation of ‘small but risky' online services under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023). Since these online services provide harmful information and illegal misinformation to individuals, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, has asked Ofcom to explain how it will monitor these small but risky services and how it will enforce the provisions of the OSA 2023 to protect individuals from this content.