Last week, London Tech Week and the Spending Review brought much energy to the tech sector (it's said that over 30,000 people set foot in Olympia alone!). But as we await the UK government’s 'full' growth offer – including the delivery of the modern industrial strategy - time to take stock on recent policy announcements relevant for scale-ups.
So, where do we stand, and what's been announced?
The UK remains an exciting place to innovate and build a tech business and is still the leading European nation for tech investment. Tech Nation’s annual report, released last week, revealed that the UK tech sector has now reached $1.2 trillion valuation. NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang also recognised this and pledged support for the UK's booming AI start up ecosystem with a £1.5bn investment.
Not only this, in a move to try improve her relationship with high-growth companies, the Chancellor has appointed Alex Depledge, a champion of female start-ups, as the UK Treasury's first entrepreneurship advisor. This marks a step in the right direction to improve the funding sources for female entrepreneurs.
We’ve seen a breadth of announcements over recent weeks:
Mansion House Accord: In May, the Mansion House Accord saw seventeen of the largest pension providers pledge to unlock up to £50 billion for the UK economy, with commitments to increase investment in private British businesses. Onus is on the Chancellor’s Mansion House address and Financial Services Growth on 15 July to address the key issue of access to finance for tech businesses to ‘scale and stay in the UK’ following recent listings elsewhere.
Regulatory approval for the British Growth Partnership: In May, alongside the pension reforms, British Business Bank has received regulatory approval to deliver the British Growth Partnership by the Financial Conduct Authority. This aims to encourage more UK pension fund investment into the UK's fastest growing, most innovative companies.
PISCES: In June, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its final rules for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) – London's new private company share trading platform. The FCA sandbox will run until June 2030 to test the regulatory framework. This marks a step in the right direction to free up liquidity for scaling firms. The proposals are a significant step towards establishing PISCES, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025. However, it should think carefully about how to responsibly include broader retail participation over time.
Specifically during London Tech Week, we saw:
Skills focus: A national skills drive with the government partnering with industry to deliver AI skills training to 7.5 million UK workers by 2030. Includes a £187m investment in a tech-first AI skills training programme for young people in schools and universities. However, onus will be on truly defining 'AI skills'.
Industry collaboration: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NVIDIA and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on AI and Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT) opportunities. This includes increased collaboration with UK universities.
Planning: ‘Extract’ set to digitise planning documents and modernise England's planning system. The AI tool will be made available to all councils by Spring 2026, using Google DeepMind’s Gemini model. On planning, this has been a regular frustration, with members outlining the planning barriers to build the tech sector's capability and enable UK data centres.
Compute infrastructure: The Prime Minister unveiled £1 billion of extra funding to ‘scale up the country’s AI compute power twenty-fold'. Scale-ups have recently identified some really big gaps in infrastructure, compute and power to support their growth.
In the Spending Review, we saw:
The government’s Spending Review doesn't just allocate funds - it sets direction. This is done through budgets for individual departments spending for the next three years. Important to note that the government will also review the Spending Review in 2027, and departments will now be working through business cases for funding.
A few announcements that stood out for tech scale-ups include:
R&D Budget received above-inflation increase, and increasing to £22.6bn per year by 2029-30: this should reach about 3% by 2030, something techUK previously called for.The budget will fund a new wave of mission-led innovation initiatives. Onus will now be on this will now be on such initiatives, and departmental allocations, supporting tech scale-ups across all of the UK.
Expanded British Business Bankto support start-ups and scale-ups’ access to finance:this is welcome, and increasing the total financial capacity to £25.6 billion should support the growth of tech scale-ups. But onus will be on delivery, and ensuring scale-ups across all regions can benefit from access to financial support.
Part of the R&D Budget, £2bn funding announced for AI Opportunities Action Plan until 2029/30: focus here is on building the UK’s sovereign AI capability and compute infrastructure. Now with assigned funding, tech scale-ups will also be crucial to the delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, whether providing solutions for the public sector to adopt AI or creating the partnerships with AI vendors to anticipate future AI developments and signal public sector demand.
Funding for HMRC to become a digital-first department:this is welcome to improve HMRC customer service and delivery of flagship digital economy programmes. But onus will be digital transformation making a change and supporting delivery of the R&D tax credit - something we highlighted within our Scale-Up Action Plan report.
Part of the R&D Budget, investments to support tech across the regions: this includes a £410 million Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, which gives regional leaders a voice in shaping R&D investment. This marks a shift from centralised innovation policy to a place-based approach - something we continue to call for through our Local Digital Index.
Compute capacity expanded to 20x capacity by 2030, along with a supercomputer in Edinburgh: this has been welcomed by techUK and something raised by our scale-ups as a major barrier to their growth. A recent conversation pointed to the need to invest in ‘digital-fit infrastructure’ and ensure access for scaling tech firms.
Now, for the government's full growth offer:
Just over a year ago, I wrote about the steps needed for the UK to build the next tech giant. Many of these asks still stand. Ultimately, high-growth businesses will be the engines of growth in high-growth sectors and should be at the core of the UK government’s economic and industrial strategy, and full growth offer.
Take some of our recent success stories – where an entrepreneurial mindset married with an innovative idea and investment to successfully scale a pioneering idea and bring this to market.techUK member Quantexa secured historic Series F funding to advance AI-driven decision intelligence. They are making an impact across government agencies to prevent fraud and modernise services using analytics and AI.Multiverse, the first ever EdTech unicorn recieved record-breaking funding and continue to support the development of AI-enabled workforces through upskilling and reskilling.
We consistently hear that tech founders have a strong basis to start from and begin the initial growth stages of their business. But success musn’t breed complacency and challenges remain; including high energy costs, difficulty securing the right talent and a level playing field for procurement.
In the upcoming Tech Sector Plan, the government has an opportunity to focus on 'scale' and supporting this across emerging technologies. These don’t have to be high-cost measures but a signal of commitment and intent to support, and recognise, the role that high-growth businesses play.
You can view techUK’s key recommendations for scale-ups via our Scale-Up Action Plan report. A few suggestions include:
Support access to, and retention of, talent: Assess the cost and complexity of visas, including the Scale-Up Visa, supporting tech firms to scale. Better promote, and extend, the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme to bolster the use and attractiveness among scale-ups.
Improve knowledge of the right finance options: Support ‘Meet the Investor’ opportunities to bring together the eco-system and better champion scale-ups across the regions. Lean on industry bodies to lead these.
Improve access to the right finance options: Bolster world-leading EIS and VCT schemes to better support regional tech start-ups and scale-ups, including increasing the age-limit for firms.
Drive diversity into scale-ups: Work to establish a network of next generation diverse leaders in deep tech and life sciences, continuing the Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship Programme.
For more information, please contact:
Mia Haffety
Policy Manager - Digital Economy, techUK
Mia joined techUK in September 2023.
Mia focuses on shaping a policy environment that fosters the expansion of the UK tech sector while maximising the transformative potential of technology across all industries.
Prior to joining techUK, Mia worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) within the Policy Unit.
Mia holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester and a BA(Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Antony Walker is deputy CEO of techUK, which he played a lead role in launching in November 2013.
Antony is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for techUK’s policy work. Prior to his appointment in July 2012 Antony was chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s independent advisory group on broadband policy. Antony was closely involved in the development of broadband policy development in the UK since the BSG was established in 2001 and authored several major reports to government. He also led the development of the UK’s world leading Open Internet Code of Practice that addresses the issue of net neutrality in the UK. Prior to setting up the BSG, Antony spent six years working in Brussels for the American Chamber of Commerce following and writing about telecoms issues and as a consultant working on EU social affairs and environmental issues. Antony is a graduate of Aberdeen University and KU Leuven and is also a Policy Fellow Alumni of the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University.
Sabina Ciofu is Associate Director – International, running the International Policy and Trade Programme at techUK.
Based in Brussels, she leads our EU policy and engagement. She is also our lead on international trade policy, with a focus on digital trade chapter in FTAs, regulatory cooperation as well as broader engagement with the G7, G20, WTO and OECD.
As a transatlanticist at heart, Sabina is a GMF Marshall Memorial fellow and issue-lead on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, within DigitalEurope.
Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor to a Member of the European Parliament for almost a decade, where she specialised in tech regulation, international trade and EU-US relations.
Sabina loves building communities and bringing people together. She is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club and co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy. Previously, as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, she led several youth civic engagement and gender equality projects.
She sits on the Advisory Board of the University College London European Institute, Café Transatlantique, a network of women in transatlantic technology policy and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club designed for women.
Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.
Edward leads the Digital Economy programme at techUK, which includes our work on online safety, fraud, and regulation for growth initiatives.
He has prior experience working for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and has previously worked for a number of public affairs consultancies specialising in research and strategy, working with leading clients in the technology and financial services sectors.
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She also took part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme and is the Education and Skills Policy Co-lead for Labour in Communications.
Theo joined techUK in 2024 as EU Policy Manager. Based in Brussels, he works on our EU policy and engagement.
Theo is an experienced policy adviser who has helped connect EU and non-EU decision makers.
Prior to techUK, Theo worked at the EU delegation to Australia, the Israeli trade mission to the EU, and the City of London Corporation’s Brussels office. In his role, Theo ensures that techUK members are well-informed about EU policy, its origins, and its implications, while also facilitating valuable input to Brussels-based decision-makers.
Theo holds and LLM in International and European law, and an MA in European Studies, both from the University of Amsterdam.
Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Regulation at techUK.
With over six years of Government Affairs expertise, Samiah has built a solid reputation as a tech policy specialist, engaging regularly with UK Government Ministers, senior civil servants and UK Parliamentarians.
Before joining techUK, Samiah led several public affairs functions for international tech firms and coalitions at Burson Global (formerly Hill & Knowlton), delivering CEO-level strategic counsel on political, legislative, and regulatory issues in the UK, EU, US, China, India, and Japan. She is adept at mobilising multinational companies and industry associations, focusing on cross-cutting digital regulatory issues such as competition, artificial intelligence, and more.
She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of London, where she founded the New School Economics Society, the Goldsmiths University chapter of Rethinking Economics.
Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Daniel Clarke
Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Dan joined techUK as a Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade in March 2023.
Before techUK, Dan worked for data and consulting company GlobalData as an analyst of tech and geopolitics. He has also worked in public affairs, political polling, and has written freelance for the New Statesman and Investment Monitor.
Dan has a degree in MSc International Public Policy from University College London, and a BA Geography degree from the University of Sussex.
Outside of work, Dan is a big fan of football, cooking, going to see live music, and reading about international affairs.
Mia focuses on shaping a policy environment that fosters the expansion of the UK tech sector while maximising the transformative potential of technology across all industries.
Prior to joining techUK, Mia worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) within the Policy Unit.
Mia holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester and a BA(Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Tess joined techUK as an Policy and Public Affairs Team Assistant in November of 2024. In this role, she supports areas such as administration, member communications and media content.
Before joining the Team, she gained experience working as an Intern in both campaign support for MPs and Councilors during the 2024 Local and General Election, and working for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation on defence and international secuirty. She has worked for multiple charities, on issues such as the climate crisis, educational inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). In 2023, Tess obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Archie Breare joined techUK in September 2022 as the Telecoms Programme intern, and moved into the Policy and Public Affairs team in February 2023.
Before starting at techUK, Archie was a student at the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in History and a master's degree in Modern British History.
In his spare time, he likes to read, discuss current affairs, and to try and persuade himself to cycle more.
Audre joined techUK in July 2023 as a Policy Manager for Data. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor in the Civil Service, where she worked on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and at HM Treasury on designing COVID-19 support schemes and delivering the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Before that, Audre worked at a public relations consultancy, advising public and private sector clients on their communications, public relations, and government affairs strategy.
Prior to this, Audre completed an MSc in Public Policy at the Korea Development Institute and a Bachelor's in International Relations and History from SOAS, University of London. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, learning about new cultures through travel and food, and going on adventures.
Oliver is a Junior Policy Manager at techUK, working across Public Affairs and Digital Regulation policy. He supports the organisation’s engagement with government and parliament, contributes to shaping techUK’s regulatory agenda, and plays a key role in coordinating political outreach, policy projects, and flagship events.
He joined techUK in November 2023 as a Team Assistant to the Policy and Public Affairs team, before stepping into his current role. He has been closely involved in efforts to ensure the tech sector’s voice is heard in the policymaking process.
Oliver holds a Master’s in Policy Research from the University of Bristol and a BSc in Policy from Swansea University. During his studies, he contributed to mental health research as a Student Research Assistant for the SMaRteN network.
Outside of work, Oliver is a keen debater and remains active in the UK debating community, having previously led the Swansea University Debating Union. He enjoys exploring complex issues from multiple perspectives and values clear, thoughtful communication in policy discussions.
Dani joined techUK in February 2025 as a Policy Manager in the Digital Regulation team.
Prior to this, Dani worked in political monitoring where she was a consultant for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In this role, she developed a strong understanding of parliamentary procedure, closely following all of the major developments in the tech centre and working with several key stakeholders and regulators.
She has an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Bristol and an MPhil in Modern European History from the University of Cambridge.
Outside of tech, Dani has a strong interest in addiction policy, particularly towards drugs, having written her dissertation on the topic as well as several subsequent research projects. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and following all things motoring, whether that be F1, MotoGP or Formula E.
techUK's Policy and Public Affairs Programme activities
techUK helps our members understand, engage and influence the development of digital and tech policy in the UK and beyond. We support our members to understand some of the most complex and thorny policy questions that confront our sector. Visit the programme page here.
techUK Report - Evolving Digital Regulation for Growth and Innovation
techUK is excited to announce its Pro-Growth Regulation Report, "Evolving Digital Regulation for Growth and Innovation
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Antony Walker is deputy CEO of techUK, which he played a lead role in launching in November 2013.
Antony is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for techUK’s policy work. Prior to his appointment in July 2012 Antony was chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s independent advisory group on broadband policy. Antony was closely involved in the development of broadband policy development in the UK since the BSG was established in 2001 and authored several major reports to government. He also led the development of the UK’s world leading Open Internet Code of Practice that addresses the issue of net neutrality in the UK. Prior to setting up the BSG, Antony spent six years working in Brussels for the American Chamber of Commerce following and writing about telecoms issues and as a consultant working on EU social affairs and environmental issues. Antony is a graduate of Aberdeen University and KU Leuven and is also a Policy Fellow Alumni of the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University.
As Head of Public Affairs, Alice supports techUK’s strategic engagement with Westminster, Whitehall and beyond. She regularly works to engage with ministers, members of the UK’s parliaments and senior civil servants on techUK’s work advocating for the role of technology in the UK’s economy as well as wider society.
Alice joined techUK in 2022. She has experience working at both a political monitoring company, leading on the tech, media and telecoms portfolio there, and also as an account manager in a Westminster-based public affairs agency. She has a degree from the University of Sheffield in Politics and Philosophy.
Edward leads the Digital Economy programme at techUK, which includes our work on online safety, fraud, and regulation for growth initiatives.
He has prior experience working for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and has previously worked for a number of public affairs consultancies specialising in research and strategy, working with leading clients in the technology and financial services sectors.
Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Regulation at techUK.
With over six years of Government Affairs expertise, Samiah has built a solid reputation as a tech policy specialist, engaging regularly with UK Government Ministers, senior civil servants and UK Parliamentarians.
Before joining techUK, Samiah led several public affairs functions for international tech firms and coalitions at Burson Global (formerly Hill & Knowlton), delivering CEO-level strategic counsel on political, legislative, and regulatory issues in the UK, EU, US, China, India, and Japan. She is adept at mobilising multinational companies and industry associations, focusing on cross-cutting digital regulatory issues such as competition, artificial intelligence, and more.
She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of London, where she founded the New School Economics Society, the Goldsmiths University chapter of Rethinking Economics.
Audre joined techUK in July 2023 as a Policy Manager for Data. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor in the Civil Service, where she worked on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and at HM Treasury on designing COVID-19 support schemes and delivering the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Before that, Audre worked at a public relations consultancy, advising public and private sector clients on their communications, public relations, and government affairs strategy.
Prior to this, Audre completed an MSc in Public Policy at the Korea Development Institute and a Bachelor's in International Relations and History from SOAS, University of London. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, learning about new cultures through travel and food, and going on adventures.
Mia focuses on shaping a policy environment that fosters the expansion of the UK tech sector while maximising the transformative potential of technology across all industries.
Prior to joining techUK, Mia worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) within the Policy Unit.
Mia holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester and a BA(Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Archie Breare joined techUK in September 2022 as the Telecoms Programme intern, and moved into the Policy and Public Affairs team in February 2023.
Before starting at techUK, Archie was a student at the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in History and a master's degree in Modern British History.
In his spare time, he likes to read, discuss current affairs, and to try and persuade himself to cycle more.
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She also took part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme and is the Education and Skills Policy Co-lead for Labour in Communications.
Dani joined techUK in February 2025 as a Policy Manager in the Digital Regulation team.
Prior to this, Dani worked in political monitoring where she was a consultant for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In this role, she developed a strong understanding of parliamentary procedure, closely following all of the major developments in the tech centre and working with several key stakeholders and regulators.
She has an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Bristol and an MPhil in Modern European History from the University of Cambridge.
Outside of tech, Dani has a strong interest in addiction policy, particularly towards drugs, having written her dissertation on the topic as well as several subsequent research projects. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and following all things motoring, whether that be F1, MotoGP or Formula E.
Oliver is a Junior Policy Manager at techUK, working across Public Affairs and Digital Regulation policy. He supports the organisation’s engagement with government and parliament, contributes to shaping techUK’s regulatory agenda, and plays a key role in coordinating political outreach, policy projects, and flagship events.
He joined techUK in November 2023 as a Team Assistant to the Policy and Public Affairs team, before stepping into his current role. He has been closely involved in efforts to ensure the tech sector’s voice is heard in the policymaking process.
Oliver holds a Master’s in Policy Research from the University of Bristol and a BSc in Policy from Swansea University. During his studies, he contributed to mental health research as a Student Research Assistant for the SMaRteN network.
Outside of work, Oliver is a keen debater and remains active in the UK debating community, having previously led the Swansea University Debating Union. He enjoys exploring complex issues from multiple perspectives and values clear, thoughtful communication in policy discussions.
Tess joined techUK as an Policy and Public Affairs Team Assistant in November of 2024. In this role, she supports areas such as administration, member communications and media content.
Before joining the Team, she gained experience working as an Intern in both campaign support for MPs and Councilors during the 2024 Local and General Election, and working for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation on defence and international secuirty. She has worked for multiple charities, on issues such as the climate crisis, educational inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). In 2023, Tess obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
