UK data centres became Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024
On 12 September 2024 the United Kingdom government designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure alongside energy and water systems. The designation lets government support the sector during critical incidents, covering cyber attacks, environmental disasters and IT outages, and was the first such designation in almost a decade.
The verdict
Verified
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Key facts
What the sources say
- Record ID
- AIA-2026-0024
- Kind
- Siting, permitting and tax
- Jurisdiction
- United Kingdom
- Last verified
- Added
- The announcement states that data centres powering the economy will be designated as Critical National Infrastructure alongside energy and water systems.
- The designation enables government support during critical incidents, including cyber attacks, environmental disasters and IT outages.
- It was announced on 12 September 2024 by the Technology Secretary.
- Designation is about resilience and incident response; it is not a permitting or connection rule.
What it changes
For an operator, a utility or a community
An operator gains a route into government incident response and, with it, expectations about resilience reporting. A utility should note that a designated customer sits in the same category as the services it already treats as critical. A community should understand what the label does and does not do: it does not change planning, water or connection rules, and it is not an efficiency commitment.
Sources
What this record was verified against
- UK Government, Data centres to be given massive boost and protectionsPrimary · 12 September 2024
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Cite this record
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID AIA-2026-0024 is permanent and is never reused.
- In a sentence
- According to the GAGE AI Infrastructure Atlas (as of 15 September 2026), uk data centres became critical national infrastructure in september 2024.
- APA
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). UK data centres became Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024. AI Infrastructure Atlas. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0024-uk-data-centres-critical-national-infrastructure
- MLA
- "UK data centres became Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024." AI Infrastructure Atlas, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 15 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0024-uk-data-centres-critical-national-infrastructure.
- Chicago
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "UK data centres became Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024." AI Infrastructure Atlas. Last modified 15 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0024-uk-data-centres-critical-national-infrastructure.
- Permalink
- https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0024-uk-data-centres-critical-national-infrastructure
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