The UK government will spend £600m to protect the public from health and security risks posed by artificial intelligence, the Treasury has announced ahead of next week’s Budget.
Major funds directed to new AI biosecurity unit and cyber centre
The largest portion of the funding will support a new biosecurity initiative, with £100m allocated to a laboratory that will use AI to detect biological threats and help develop medical countermeasures. In addition, the package includes £65m to develop countermeasures against pathogens.
The government said the £100m will be backed by up to £200m of credits from AI firms OpenAI and Anthropic, creating what officials described as a "world‑first" unit intended to accelerate responses to novel biological risks.
Mr Healey said the package would deliver a "distinctively British" approach to AI as he acknowledged the "concerns of working people" about the technology.
Security, standards and economic impact
Alongside the biosecurity laboratory, the Treasury said an additional £120m will be invested in a Britain-wide AI Security Institute to develop standards and guard against technological risks. A new National Exposure and Real‑Time Vulnerability (NERV) centre will receive £70m to deploy AI tools to detect cyber threats against critical infrastructure and the economy.
Officials also pledged £10m a year to study how AI will transform industry and labour markets, reflecting concerns about employment disruption as the technology develops.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan described the proposed biosecurity lab as a "major new global institution" that would draw together leading scientific expertise to keep the country safe.
Context and immediate drivers
Ministers said the move responds to growing industry and public concern that advances in AI could be misused to create novel biological agents or weaponise existing knowledge. The announcement follows recent work by National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) experts with OpenAI after AI agents helped uncover long-standing vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language.
The Treasury framed the package as combining public investment with private sector contributions to build defensive capabilities rather than seeking to curtail AI innovation. Chancellor John Healey will provide further detail in his Budget statement next week.
- Total package: £600m
- Biosecurity laboratory: £100m public funding; up to £200m in industry credits
- Countermeasures against pathogens: £65m
- AI Security Institute: £120m
- NERV centre (cyber): £70m
- Research into labour impact: £10m per year
Budgetary and policy implications
The package signals a notable redirection of public spending towards technology‑driven risk management at the intersection of health and national security. By leveraging industry credits alongside state funding, ministers aim to scale scientific capacity quickly — but the approach raises questions about governance, transparency and long‑term oversight.
Critics have previously urged stricter controls and a slower pace of development for certain AI capabilities. The government’s emphasis on building defensive infrastructure rather than imposing broad restrictions suggests it is prioritising resilience and mitigation while maintaining a pro‑innovation stance.
Further details on governance structures, data access, and how credits from private AI firms will be provided and audited are expected in the forthcoming Budget. Officials have not yet published legal frameworks or oversight arrangements for the new institutions, leaving open how they will interact with existing agencies such as the NCSC and public health bodies.
| Programme | Public funding | Private credits |
|---|---|---|
| Biosecurity laboratory | £100m | Up to £200m |
| AI Security Institute | £120m | — |
| NERV centre (cyber) | £70m | — |
| Pathogen countermeasures | £65m | — |
| Industry/labour research | £10m per year | — |
As ministers prepare for the Budget, the announcement sets the tone for the government’s technology policy: a focus on defending the public and economy from AI‑related risks while continuing to work with major AI companies. How swiftly the new centres are stood up, and the accountability mechanisms attached to private sector involvement, will be central to scrutiny in Parliament and among scientific and security experts.
