GovWire

• AI to drive the Plan for Change, helping turbocharge growth and boost living standards
• public sector to spend less time doing admin and more time delivering the services working people rely on
• dedicated AI Growth Zones to speed up planning for AI infrastructure
• 14 billion and 13,250 jobs committed by private leading tech firms following AI Action Plan

Artificial intelligence will be unleashed across the UK to deliver a decade of national renewal, under a new plan announced today (13 January 2025).

In a marked move from the previous governments approach, the Prime Minister is throwing the full weight of Whitehall behind this industry by agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford in his game-changing AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI is already being used across the UK. It is being used in hospitals up and down the country to deliver better, faster, and smarter care: spotting pain levels for people who cant speak, diagnosing breast cancer quicker, and getting people discharged quicker. This is already helping deliver the governments mission to build an NHS fit for the future.

Unveiling details of the governments AI Opportunities Action Plan today, the Prime Minister will say AI can transform the lives of working people it has the potential to speed up planning consultations to get Britain building, help drive down admin for teachers so they can get on with teaching our children, and feed AI through cameras to spot potholes and help improve roads.

Backing AI to the hilt can also lead to more money in the pockets of working people. The IMF estimates that if AI is fully embraced it can boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year. If fully realised, these gains could be worth up to an average 47 billion to the UK each year over a decade.

Todays plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation revolutionising our public services and putting more money in peoples back pockets. Because for too long we have allowed blockers to control the public discourse and get in the way of growth in this sector.

The plan puts an end to that by introducing new measures that will create dedicated AI Growth Zones that speed up planning permission and give them the energy connections they need to power up AI.

The UK occupies a unique place in the world. We can learn from the USs and EUs approach - delivering the dynamism, flexibility and long-term stability that we know businesses want.

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:

Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.

But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that wont sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.

Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge the Plan for Change. That means more jobs and investment in the UK, more money in peoples pockets, and transformed public services.

Thats the change this government is delivering.

It comes as three major tech companies Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl have committed to 14 billion investment in the UK to build the AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK. Thats on top of the 25 billion in AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.

Vantage Data Centres which is working to build one of Europes largest data centre campuses in Wales plans to invest over 12 billion in data centres across the UK creating over 11,500 jobs in the process.

Kyndryl the worlds largest IT infrastructure services provider and a leading IT consultancy announces plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years. This new tech hub will share the Governments ambition to roll AI out across the country to help grow the economy and foster the next generation of talent.

Nscale one of the UKs leading AI companies has announced a $2.5 billion investment to support the UKs data centre infrastructure over the next three years. They have also signed a contract to build the largest UK sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, Essex by 2026.

The plan includes initiatives that will help make the UK the number one place for AI firms to invest, which is vital if Britain is to be at the forefront of this industry and be a changemaker rather than a change-taker. The key changes include:

• forging new AI Growth Zones to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire
• increasing the public compute capacity by twentyfold to give us the processing power we need to fully embrace this new technology - this starts immediately with work starting on a brand new supercomputer
• a new team will be set up to seize the opportunities of AI and build the UKs sovereign capabilities
• creating a new National Data Library to safely and securely unlock the value of public data and support AI development
• a dedicated AI Energy Council chaired by the Science and Energy Secretaries will also be established, working with energy companies to understand the energy demands and challenges which will fuel the technologys development - this will directly support the governments mission to become a clean energy superpower by tapping into technologies like small modular reactors.

Taken together, the 50 measures will make the UK irresistible to AI firms looking to start, scale, or grow their business. It builds on recent progress in AI that saw 25 billion of new investment in data centres announced since the government took office last July.

This Action Plan is also at the heart of the governments Industrial Strategy and the first plank of the upcoming Digital and Technology Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months.

Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle said:???

AI has the potential to change all of our lives but for too long, we have been curious and often cautious bystanders to the change unfolding around us. With this plan, we become agents of that change.??

We already have remarkable strengths we can tap into when it comes to AI building our status as the cradle of computer science and intelligent machines and establishing ourselves as the third largest AI market in the world.??

This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI, thats why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the UK so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today. This is how were putting our Plan for Change in motion.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP said:

AI is a powerful tool that will help grow our economy, make our public services more efficient and open up new opportunities to help improve living standards.

This action plan is the governments modern industrial strategy in action. Attracting AI businesses to the UK, binging in new investment, creating new jobs and turbocharging our Plan for Change. This means better living standards in every part of the United Kingdom and working people have more money in their pocket.

Matt Clifford CBE said:???

This is a plan which puts us all-in - backing the potential of AI to grow our economy, improve lives for citizens, and make us a global hub for AI investment and innovation.??

AI offers opportunities we cant let slip through our fingers, and these steps put us on the strongest possible footing to ensure AI delivers in all corners of the country, from building skills and talent to revolutionising our infrastructure and compute power.

Notes to editors:

The plan has 3 main pillars that will lay the foundations for AI to grow, boost adoption in existing private and public sectors, and keep the UK ahead of the pack internationally.

First laying the foundations for AI to flourish in the UK.

The first ever AI Growth Zones will be set up. These are areas across the country that will speed up planning approvals for the rapid build-out of data centres, give them better access to the energy grid, and draw in investment from around the world.

The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire home to the UKs Atomic Energy Authority andsome of the brightest scientific minds in the world.

This will also serve a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy like fusion?can power our AI ambitions.?

More will be announced in the Summer, with a particular focus on de-industrialised areas of the country with access to power and strong support from local government.

That means local jobs, improved communities, and a growing economy all of which puts more money in peoples pockets.

Build a brand new supercomputer with enough AI power to play itself at chess half a million times a second. This is part of the plan to increase compute

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