Data Centres: Energy and Planning
(asked on 1st July 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of planning and energy infrastructure to support the development of artificial intelligence data centres.
Answered by
Baroness Lloyd of Effra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology engages regularly with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to ensure the UK energy system supports growing digital and AI‑driven demand.
This year, the Government passed legislation that facilitates the direction of data centres into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects planning process. The National Policy Statement for Data Centres, when published, will provide a clear framework for the relevant Secretary of State to grant development consent to data centres through this process.