Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the water demand of new and planned datacentres, and whether she has made an assessment of the potential risk of their designation as critical national infrastructure taking priority over household water use during drought conditions.

As the data centre sector grows, Defra is working across Government and with the Environment Agency to better understand this growth and reduce its impact.

Protecting public water supplies for households and businesses remains a priority during periods of acute water stress. Critical national infrastructure status does not create a general obligation on water companies to provide water for cooling. The Security and Emergency Measures Direction requires water companies, when preparing emergency plans, to identify and prioritise vulnerable customers, while also having regard to the needs of non-domestic users and any notified Critical National Infrastructure.