Decisions on investment are a matter for private companies. The Government has been clear that it will encourage and support investments that will enable UK firms and people to benefit. Many of the large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the UK have been publicly announced, with most of these having press releases available on Gov.uk. The Government continues to engage across the board on these investments to ensure that they deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

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

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.

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's release of information on 11th March in response to the Humble Address motion.

The Government has signed Memoranda of Understanding with these companies to support industry cooperation. You can read the full details of these agreements on the GOV.UK website for each company: Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind.

The Government is already working with these firms to deliver on UK objectives. For example, Anthropic are developing an AI assistant to transform GOV.UK services, and OpenAI are collaborating with the Ministry of Justice to support businesses with AI innovation.

Our AI Security Institute also collaborates closely with these companies to research the serious risks that advanced AI could pose. Through this collaboration, the Institute helps to identify vulnerabilities in developers' models; both OpenAI and Anthropic have addressed dozens of such issues before releasing their models.

Ministers meet with the AI Industry to discuss a range of issues related to government priorities, including in relation to AI security. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)’s transparency data on ministers’ meetings with external organisations shows that between January and June 2025 there were six meetings with OpenAI, which focussed on issues including support for businesses, AI’s potential for public service delivery, and UK AI policy. Further updates on ministerial meetings will be released in due course.

Data centres were designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024. In recognition of this, the government is expected to introduce proportionate regulatory oversight of this sector. The expected vehicle is the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB). This will encapsulate OpenAI operations that use colocation services which are covered by the regulations in the CSRB.

DSIT is actively considering options to further improve the cyber security and resilience of Data Centres, as outlined in the Cyber Security and Resilience Policy Statement that was published on 1 April 2025. This would apply to most UK based data centres, including those used by OpenAI.

Specific questions in relation to contracts between OpenAI and relevant Government Departments are a matter for that Government Department. Departments must carry out cyber security assurance of their critical services through GovAssure, assessing key security outcomes against the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Assessment Framework. Government’s Public Procurement Note 014 directs all commercial suppliers holding government OFFICIAL, personnel or citizen data to have a minimum of NCSC’s Cyber Essentials certification.

The government is deeply concerned about every death by suicide, including those that occur following content viewed online. The government keeps all legislation under review and will act where needed to protect and support vulnerable people in society.

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must protect all users from in-scope illegal content and children from in-scope harmful content, such as suicide content, including where it is AI generated.

The government is committed to keeping children safe online and will not hesitate to strengthen the law where required to further protect them.

The government is committed to transparency, security, and the responsible use of emerging technologies. The Memorandum of Understanding with OpenAI is voluntary and non-binding. It does not grant access to public data or commit the Government to any expenditure.

The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, and all organisations are required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office retains powers to investigate and enforce action where necessary, and individuals maintain legal recourse if their data is misused.