Healey unveils AI package to boost UK data centres amid grid delays

Chancellor Healey unveiled the package on Oct. 24, 2026, with the Autumn Budget still to come. The plan sits under the AI Opportunities Action Plan and commits hundreds of millions to building out domestic AI infrastructure. It pairs the growth push with stated priorities on workforce protections and national security.

The money covers several specific bets. An AI Economics Institute gets £10 million a year to study how AI is reshaping employment. A £165 million National AI Biosecurity Initiative includes £100 million for what the government calls a world-first AI Biosecurity Lab in the UK. Edinburgh will get support for AI chip design, while Manchester is set to host a new AI Centre of Excellence.

The headline ambition is much bigger: a threefold increase in UK computing capacity, reaching 6GW by 2030. But the power grid is the bottleneck. Microsoft pulled out of a planned Nscale project in Loughton, a 50MW site, because grid delays pushed its projected power availability into the 2030s.

The government has been trying to clear that path for a while. In September 2024, data centres were designated critical national infrastructure. A November 2025 policy paper laid out reforms for AI Growth Zones, including planning changes and energy pricing support for qualifying sites, plus 100% business rate retention for English local authorities over 25 years.

Healey's announcement builds on that framework, but the Microsoft-Nscale episode shows the risk. Funding can be allocated quickly; transmission capacity takes years. Hitting 6GW by 2030 leaves little room for more delays like the one that pushed Loughton's power availability into the next decade.

For regions, the package spreads the buildout beyond the usual hubs: Edinburgh gets chip design support, Manchester gets a centre of excellence. For investors and operators watching UK infrastructure, the key things to track are the Autumn Budget, the pace of AI Growth Zone approvals, and concrete changes to how fast new data centres can connect to the grid.