Whilst the UK’s policy objective is to deliver the best environment in which tech companies can flourish, a lack of joined up thinking across various Government departments can be an impediment to a coherent tech strategy.

Tech policy in the UK falls within the ambit of a number of different Government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, HM Treasury, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Education, the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister’s Office.

One example of this issue is the National Security and Investment Bill (NSIB) introduced by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Once the Bill is passed its terms will significantly increase the UK Government’s powers to scrutinise certain transactions involving a “national security interest” prior to their completion. One of the factors for consideration is assessing the risk of the acquirer or investor in the asset. The understandable purpose of the legislation is to de-risk external investment in strategically important sectors, with the AI and digital sectors considered particularly vulnerable. However, a direct consequence of the NSIB is that a tech investment fund that has raised a small proportion of its fund from, say, Chinese or Middle Eastern investors, will be subject to the time and financial cost of a review of every transaction it makes.

If the effect of the NSIB is to impede overseas investment in the UK tech sector, countervailing policies to offset the impact, such as incentivising UK institutional investment in the sector, should be implemented. However, there is no sign yet that the impact on the tech sector of competing policy objectives is being sensibly analysed, much less that effective mitigation measures are being developed and introduced.

Given the importance to the Government of delivering on its strategic plan for economic growth, arving out a lead department, with overall policy responsibility for a joined up policy programme that supports the tech sector, is essential.