Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres in the UK is supported by sufficient energy and grid capacity.

The Government recognises that growth in AI and data centres is increasing electricity demand and that grid connection delays are a major barrier to new capacity in the UK.

To address this, the Government is reforming the connections process to better support strategically important demand, including data centres. Working with DESNZ, Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator, reforms will reduce delays, limit speculative applications and prioritise viable projects, helping unlock capacity faster while maintaining security of supply. Through the AI Energy Council, we are exploring a resilient, sustainable and scalable solution.