The government has announced a package worth up to £2 billion to accelerate the development and deployment of quantum technologies, led jointly by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and HM Treasury. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Chancellor Rachel Reeves set an ambition for the UK to be the first nation to commit to making and deploying quantum computers at scale by the early 2030s, as part of the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. (gov.uk)
Central to the plan is an advanced procurement called ProQure: Scaling UK Quantum Computing. The competition opens next week, in the week commencing 23 March 2026, inviting proposals for state‑of‑the‑art prototype systems. Following evaluation, the most promising suppliers will be contracted to deliver larger machines for use by researchers, public bodies and businesses as part of the national computing infrastructure. Government states these systems will be built in Britain to strengthen domestic supply chains and attract private capital. (gov.uk)
The funding profile combines £1 billion for procuring large‑scale quantum computers with over £1 billion over four years for technology development, skills and facilities. Within that, over £500 million is earmarked for quantum computing programmes, over £400 million for sensing and navigation, £125 million for quantum networking, and £205 million for quantum sensing and navigation. An additional £13.8 million will go to the five UKRI National Quantum Research Hubs, with further support for the Quantum Software Lab in Edinburgh, £90 million for quantum infrastructure and £20 million for skills and commercialisation. (gov.uk)
Ministers cite independent modelling indicating potential economy‑wide gains. Oxford Economics estimates quantum computing could lift UK productivity by up to 7% by 2045-equivalent to as much as £212 billion of GDP-and support more than 100,000 jobs, with upside if commercial viability arrives earlier. DSIT references this analysis in setting the case for public investment. (oxfordeconomics.com)
Policy intent is application‑led. The announcement highlights use cases from personalised medicine to greener energy and financial security. Current UK projects namechecked by DSIT include UCL’s Q‑BIOMED work on wearable brain scanners for epilepsy, while programme funding for networking and sensing is intended to enable ultra‑secure communications, greenhouse‑gas monitoring and improved diagnostics over time. (gov.uk)
Workforce measures sit alongside capital spend. Through the government’s TechFirst programme, up to 100 fully funded internships will be offered with quantum companies to expand near‑term talent pipelines. This responds to skills needs previously flagged by the UK Quantum Skills Taskforce, including engineering, integration and manufacturing capabilities required to scale quantum platforms. (gov.uk)
The procurement is designed as a phased test‑and‑scale pathway. Suppliers will first deliver prototypes for evaluation against performance criteria before any move to larger, operationally useful machines. By joining R&D, hardware, software and manufacturing with procurement in a single programme, DSIT aims to shorten the route to deployable capability and give investors clearer demand signals. (gov.uk)
DSIT pairs the public investment with evidence of private‑sector momentum. The press notice points to an Infleqtion neutral‑atom system reaching the 100‑qubit class at the National Quantum Computing Centre, Vescent selecting the National Physical Laboratory for its first UK office, and IonQ partnering with the University of Cambridge to establish a Quantum Innovation Centre that will host a 256‑qubit system. IonQ’s investor announcement provides further detail on the Cambridge deployment. (gov.uk)
Access is a defining feature. Once live, systems procured through ProQure are intended to be available to scientists, researchers, the public sector and businesses as part of national computing infrastructure, giving end‑users early routes to experiment with quantum advantage in areas such as optimisation, simulation and secure communications. (gov.uk)
National security and resilience are explicit considerations. The package references quantum‑secure networking and advances in timing, navigation and sensing that could complement or provide alternatives to satellite‑dependent systems, with UKRI‑funded hubs and partners indicating pathways into critical infrastructure, from electricity grids to telecoms and transport. (gov.uk)
For policy teams and procurement leads, the immediate step is to prepare for market engagement documents and technical specifications in the week beginning 23 March 2026. Departments identifying candidate workloads, data governance needs and evaluation metrics now will be better placed to participate in early trials as systems transition from prototypes to service. (gov.uk)
Delivery will be judged on execution: timely competitions, transparent down‑selection, and integration with skills and standards activity. If ProQure proceeds on schedule and suppliers meet performance milestones, the UK will have a clearer route to domestic, at‑scale quantum capability in the early 2030s, aligned to the aims set out by DSIT and HM Treasury. (gov.uk)