Data Centres: South-west
Thursday, 15 October 2026
Contributions
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)Liberal Democrat
9. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of data centre developments on resource capacity in the south-west.
The Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Kanishka Narayan)Labour
We work closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Departments across Government to ensure that critical infrastructure developments are sustainable for local resource capacity. The planning system takes into account a number of those questions and ought to account for the long-term implications for water and wider resource supply. We have specifically designed our AI growth zones to be investments in areas where there is sufficient energy capacity and where infrastructure can be enhanced.
Water UK says data centres in England are using about 6.6 million litres of drinking water a day and that is set to triple by 2030. Meanwhile, households in Devon and Cornwall have been under a hosepipe ban since August and businesses are now facing water restrictions. Given the dry weather that we have had and the fact there is probably a lot more to come, have the Government considered legislating to require new data centres to operate with low water dependency, particularly when they are being built in the south of England where water shortages will become even more pressing?
Let me say three things. First, it is important to be clear on the data. The estimates that we have at the moment suggest data centres account for approximately 0.2% of non-household water usage in England. Secondly, when people build data centres here, we want them to build in the light of our values and what local communities need. That, in turn, means investing, alongside technology infrastructure, in clean energy infrastructure and in wider resourcing locally. Thirdly, I am always keen on ideas for how further improvements and demand flexibility for both energy and water resources can be supported by data centres. I will continue to look at the ideas the hon. Lady has proposed.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)Labour
There are environmental consequences caused by the emergence of data centres. There are also overblown claims as to their ability to create large numbers of jobs. The biggest concern, however, is in whose interests they will operate. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that AI works for the people, not just for big tech companies?
I thank my hon. Friend, whose question is one we have discussed at length. The central point is that in the last wave of technology, we built neither public trust nor British technology. In this wave of AI, we are focused on building both trust and technology so we can have sovereign control over what we are building here.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5417807.