Questions Before ConcreteData centres in England and Wales
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The issues · Who really benefits

Jobs, tax and the promises made

Data centres are sold on jobs and investment. Building them brings real work for a few years, but a finished site is highly automated, and much of the profit may be taxed elsewhere.

Why it matters

Large sites can take land that could otherwise hold many more jobs. The trade-off should be judged on realistic figures, not headlines.

Local communities carry the costs; it is fair to ask what lasting benefit they receive.

Key points

  • One recent Welsh example is put at around 120 permanent jobs.[1]
  • The Digital Services Tax does not apply to cloud computing or data storage.[2]
  • A 2026 international deal exempted US-headquartered groups from part of the global minimum tax, cutting the UK's expected gain by about £600 million a year.[3]
  • Analysts disagree sharply about whether the vast sums announced for AI infrastructure will actually be spent.[4]

Questions you can ask

Drafted in full so you can copy, adapt and send them. See the questions tracker for all of them, with a downloadable version.

Ask: the local planning authority, and through it the applicant

“Please set out the expected number of permanent on-site jobs at years one, five and ten of operation, as distinct from construction-phase employment, and the assumptions made about automation over that period.”

Follow-up: Compare the answer with any staffing figures given in the developer's publicity and in government announcements.

Ask: HM Treasury and the Welsh Government

“What assessment has been made of the corporation tax and business-rates revenue forecast from data-centre operators in the UK and in Wales over the next five years, and what steps are being taken to ensure that profits attributable to UK data-centre operations are taxed in the UK?”

Follow-up: Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow to both bodies could be made alongside it.

1 more question(s) on the in-depth page.

What you can do

  • Find the application on your council's planning website, and check what the documents say on this issue, or whether they are silent. See Start here.
  • Send the questions on this page in writing and keep copies.
  • If information is missing, ask for it through WhatDoTheyKnow.
  • Ask your town or community council to raise the issue in its response.
  • List your group in the campaigns directory so others can find you.

Read this issue in depth

Sources

  1. DataCenterDynamics, Silicon Valleys: How Wales Aims to Become a Data Center Hub (analysis, 2026). https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/silicon-valleys-how-wales-became-a-data-center-hub/
  2. Finance Act 2020, Part 2 (ss.39-72), especially s.43(2), defining "digital services activity" for Digital Services Tax purposes as limited to social media services, internet search engines and online marketplaces. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/14/part/2
  3. House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, Large Business Tax Compliance, HC 86 (10 July 2026). https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cmselect/cmpubacc/86/report.html
  4. Sequoia Capital, David Cahn, 'AI's $600B Question' (20 June 2024, subsequently updated); see also CNBC, 'Bond Market Anxiety Is Growing Over AI Capex Budgets' (24 July 2026). These are analyst commentary and opinion, not independently verified fact, and are presented as such. https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ais-600b-question/