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Data centres will be given greater protections from cyber attacks and IT outages as ministers introduce safeguards to bolster investor confidence in the UK.
Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle will announce on Thursday that sites storing NHS, financial and personal smartphone data will be designated as critical national infrastructure (CNI).
The new classification means data centres will be provided with additional government support in anticipating and recovering from emergencies, including through the creation of a dedicated CNI data infrastructure team of senior officials.
The team will monitor potential threats and co-ordinate priority access to government security agencies, including the National Cyber Security Centre, and emergency services.
Kyle told the Financial Times that the government was “doing everything we can” to boost the “magnetic market” in digital infrastructure to power wider economic growth.
The plans, first drawn up by the previous Conservative administration, are designed to minimise the impact on the economy of any critical incidents that affect data centres, including environmental disasters and extreme weather events.
Government officials hope the move will also deter cyber criminals from targeting data centres in the UK.
It comes after two significant incidents this year highlighted the need for greater resilience from a range of threats. A ransomware attack disrupted healthcare for thousands of patients at London hospitals and a faulty CrowdStrike software update sparked an unprecedented global computing outage.
Ministers say the improved protections for UK data infrastructure will offer reassurance to investors considering setting up businesses in Britain, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer emphasises economic growth and wealth creation as his administration’s primary mission.
It is the first CNI designation in almost a decade, after the space and defence sectors were awarded the status in 2015, joining energy and water systems.
Alongside the government’s announcement, proposals for a £3.75bn investment in Europe’s largest data centre in Hertfordshire will be unveiled on Thursday.
Data company DC01UK has submitted a planning application to Hertsmere Borough Council for the centre, which it says will create 500 construction jobs and 200 permanent on-site roles, as well as support 13,740 data and tech jobs across the country.
It came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed on Wednesday that Amazon Web Services plans to invest £8bn in the UK over the next five years on building, operating and maintaining data centres.
Kyle said the government’s plans were “very investment-friendly and very community friendly” because they will “create jobs and wealth”.
He added that Labour was taking action to address the big three demands from industry regarding building data centres: remove planning barriers, reduce regulation barriers and improve the access — and cost of — electricity, including from renewable sources as technology companies aim to meet net zero targets.
Starmer’s government has made clear it wants to significantly expand the network of data centres across the UK over the next decade by reducing the red tape around their construction and providing favourable conditions for companies investing in the sector.
The new government has already indicated it would intervene to potentially grant planning permission to two proposed data centre projects on greenbelt land in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, which had been blocked under the previous Conservative administration.
Supporting the construction of data centres provides a convenient avenue for the government to demonstrate a commitment to investing in Britain’s digital economy and its burgeoning artificial intelligence sector without having to provide any upfront capital, at a time when Whitehall departments are being asked to make significant cuts.
