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Written question asked by Chi Onwurah (Labour) on Monday, 13 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 April 2026 (named day). It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

AI Growth Zones: North East

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision by OpenAI to pause its Stargate UK investment on the AI Growth Zone in the North East of England, and what action her Department is taking to maintain confidence among international investors in the region.

Answer

Since the announcement of the North East AI Growth Zone, there has been no change to energy pricing or the regulatory environment in the UK. We engage regularly with developers and other stakeholders for the North East AI Growth Zone and are encouraged that Cobalt Park are in discussions with a number of alternative offtake customers. The success of the AI Growth Zones programme is not contingent on any single investor. Five AIGZs have been designated with the potential to deliver £28 billion of investment from a diverse range of developers.

The Government is delivering an ambitious policy package to support build-out of AI infrastructure in the UK. DSIT will set up a dedicated AI Growth Zone Delivery Unit providing a single point of contact for investors, accelerated planning and grid connection support, long-term business rates retention for host local authorities, and targeted energy pricing support.

We are continuing to create the right conditions for investment in the UK’s AI and data centre infrastructure work with leading AI companies to strengthen UK compute capacity.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
126560
Session
2024-26
Related items
AI Growth Zones: North East
Monday, 27 April 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
North East OpenAI AI growth zones
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk