Healey keen for more UK data centres but wants to avoid ‘free-for-all on AI’

Helen Corbett, Press Association Political Correspondent

Chancellor John Healey said he is ready to back more data centres in Britain to house sensitive information but wants to avoid the “free-for-all” that has sparked a backlash in the US.

The boom in AI has brought a need for further data centres but opponents point to the huge amount of energy they use and environmental impact.

There has been a growing pushback against them in the US, and protests have taken place in Europe in recent weeks too.

Mr Healey said US Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh told him when they met this week there that AI is not just bringing benefits to the super rich, but raising the level of productivity – and thus the value and the wages – of ordinary workers.

The Chancellor told The Times that there are signs AI has the potential to “lift Britain further, as long as we find the way that avoids the rerun of the data centres debate in the States”.

In last month’s Budget, he announced a new British data centre covenant with strict tests that data centres must meet.

It means the owners of data centres in the UK must invest in local communities, create local jobs and protect local water supplies, in return for getting grid connections and being allowed to build onsite generation while they wait.

Mr Healey told The Times: “I want to avoid the free-for-all on AI and data centres we’ve seen in the States.

“So where NHS health data is used with AI, I want that data in Britain, not in data centres abroad.

“Where AI is used for our security, I want that data in Britain, for Britain, not abroad.

“To do that, we have to develop more data centres.

“I’m ready to back them if they provide the community benefits and can help build public trust.”