Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government are taking to tackle the environmental impact of data centres.

The Government is taking a coordinated approach to address the environmental impact of data centres as it seeks to promote sustainable sectoral growth. Through the AI Energy Council, we are working with industry, regulators and the energy system to improve efficiency and reduce carbon intensity. UK Data and AI infrastructure is subject to the UK’s environmental and planning frameworks, which require assessment of impacts such as energy use, water consumption, land use, and local environmental factors. Larger data centres, which will be able to apply through the recently introduced Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project route, will also be subject to these requirements.