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Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 July 2026. It was answered by Lord Livermore (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Artificial Intelligence: Data Centres

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of investment in artificial intelligence data centres on inflationary pressures in the UK economy.

Answer

HM Treasury continuously monitors developments in the economy, including the drivers of inflation and wider cost-of-living pressures. The inflationary impact of investment in AI data centres will depend on its scale, timing and interaction with wider supply conditions. While investment in AI data centres could in principle add to inflationary pressures, we have not seen evidence to date of a significant impact in the aggregate inflation data.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast that inflation was due to return close to target in Q2 this year, before the impact of the war in Iran began to increase motor fuel prices.

The Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England has responsibility for controlling inflation, and the Government has full confidence that it will sustainably return inflation to the 2 per cent target. The Government supports the Bank of England through responsible fiscal policy, alongside targeted support for the cost of living. The OBR forecast that government policy will reduce CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2026/27.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL1512
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Investment Economic situation Inflation Artificial intelligence Data centres
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk