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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Water UK regarding its warning that the UK does not have sufficient water resources to support planned datacentre expansion.

WaterUK regularly attends Defra's Water Delivery Taskforce, chaired by the Minister of State for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy, which brings together Government, regulators and industry and is working to improve the evidence on data centre water use.

Current evidence suggests that existing data centres in England account for just 0.2% of non-household demand. Water companies may refuse a connection to a data centre where sufficient resources are not available. Water companies are responsible for planning and investing to meet future water needs, and Government expects them to continue improving water efficiency and reducing leakage.