Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of large-scale AI data centre developments on regional economic growth.

Data centres are foundational to a competitive UK economy, underpinning the digital services that drive productivity across sectors—from finance and advanced manufacturing to public services and the creative industries. By enabling AI, cloud computing and data‑intensive services, they deliver economy‑wide productivity gains nationally and regionally, as well as strengthen the UK’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

TechUK has estimated that UK data centres contribute £4.7 billion pounds in gross value added each year and support-tens of thousands of high-quality jobs across construction, operations and specialist supply chains. Operational employment is generally highly skilled and well paid, with wider employment supported through demand for electrical engineering, cooling, digital infrastructure and maintenance services. More widely, TechUK estimates that each job funded by data centre operations supports between 1.4–2.5 jobs in the wider economy.

HMG’s AI Growth Zone programme unlocks significant private investment and secures compute to drive AI growth, supporting high‑value local jobs and skills. HMG is investing up to £5 million per AI Growth Zone, in the North-East of England, Oxfordshire, North and South Wales, and Lanarkshire in Scotland, working with local areas to design tailored schemes to realise local economic benefits and boost AI adoption in local communities.