Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed plans to make it easier to build data centres on levels of water usage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38, Defra continues to work with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how water efficiency and demand in data centres can be improved.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to monitor the water usage of data centres built in AI Growth Zones.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38, Defra continues to work with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how water efficiency and demand in data centres can be improved.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Question 2947 on Water Companies: Accountability, when he expects the consumer water panels to be established.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.
Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.
An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department or water companies will appoint members to consumer water panels.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.
Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.
An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) governance and (b) performance of the water industry in England meets the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to the effective implementation of our international obligations under the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.
The United Kingdom is not currently subject to any water industry related compliance recommendations concerning its obligations under the Convention.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9485 on Water Companies: Climate Change, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the adequacy of how Ofwat is carrying out this statutory duty.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As an independent regulator, Ofwat carries out its statutory duties autonomously from the Government and instead is directly accountable to Parliament. The department therefore does not routinely monitor or assess how Ofwat carries out its duties.
An Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system was launched by the UK and Welsh Governments on Wednesday 23 October. Through this review, we will look at long-term, wider reform of the water sector as a whole. This includes considering and clarifying the roles of regulators, as well as how to ensure water company infrastructure is secure and resilient to short- and long-term pressures.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring Ofwat to monitor climate adaptation and mitigation requirements for water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under section 2 of The Water Industry Act 1991, Ofwat must carry out their statutory duties to further their resilience objectives: to secure the long-term resilience of water companies’ water supply and wastewater systems; and to secure that they take steps to enable them, in the long-term, to meet the need for water supplies and wastewater services.
Published on 11 July, Ofwat’s draft determinations on water company investment from 2025-30 included a total expenditure of £88bn across the sector, including £6bn for climate adaptation measures such as securing water supplies, progressing 9 new reservoirs and developing 7 large-scale water transfer schemes.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential merits of requiring companies building data centres to invest in (a) building and (b) maintaining water supply infrastructure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.
Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of data processing by data centres on water usage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.
Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Ofwat on increased demand on water supply by data centres.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.
Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.