The expansion of AI infrastructure is critical to the UK's long-term economic growth, resilience, and global competitiveness. This Government is working with industry to improve understanding of the demand for agricultural land.

National planning policy gives clear preference for development sited on brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land. Where development of agricultural land is necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.

The Land Use Framework included a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England while increasing resilience to climate change and safeguarding our best and most versatile agricultural land.

The Government recognises that growth in AI and data centres is increasing electricity demand and that grid connection delays are a major barrier to new capacity in the UK.

To address this, the Government is reforming the connections process to better support strategically important demand, including data centres. Working with DESNZ, Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator, reforms will reduce delays, limit speculative applications and prioritise viable projects, helping unlock capacity faster while maintaining security of supply. Through the AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DBIST and DESNZ, DBIST is exploring resilient, sustainable and scalable.

Due to the quasi-judicial role of Ministers in the planning system, I am unable to comment on specific planning cases. By law planning applications are determined in accordance with the local development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that plans should identify, map and safeguard the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance for biodiversity. Furthermore, it sets out that planning policies and decisions should protect sites of biodiversity value in a manner commensurate with their statutory status or identified quality in the development plan.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the NPPF. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here (and attached), included proposals relating to protected sites. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

The Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade engages regularly with relevant organisations such as DEFRA and the Environment Agency, recognising the need to ensure data infrastructure does not compromise the resilience of public water supplies.

The Government supports the adoption of efficient cooling technologies, including closed-loop systems and alternative water sources such as rainwater harvesting, and national planning policy embeds consideration of sustainable water use and resource efficiency in decision making. In 2025, a joint techUK-Environment Agency survey found that 51% of surveyed sites use closed loop cooling systems, and 64% use less than 10,000m³ of water per year.

Energy resilience is a top priority for the Government, which works continuously with industry to improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure to a range of risks, including extreme weather events.

The Government is committed to ensuring electricity networks can meet rising electricity demand, including from data centres, throughout the year.

Government is also looking at how AI can improve resilience in the network. AI offers a way to run the electricity grid more intelligently, shifting from overbuilding and manual intervention towards real-time risk management, autonomous optimisation and consumer-led flexibility.

My Department has made no such assessment.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. That proposed Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, makes clear that to support business investment and employment, development plans should, at the most appropriate level allocate sites to implement the economic vision and strategy and meet existing and anticipated needs over the plan period, paying particular regard to facilitating development to meet the needs of a modern economy (including sites and premises which are flexible and adaptable) and the specific locational requirements of different sectors.

This includes, where a need exists or is anticipated, making provision for clusters, networks and sites for knowledge and data-driven, creative or high technology industries; and for new, expanded or upgraded facilities and infrastructure to support the growth of these industries (including laboratories, campus facilities, data centres and associated generating capacity, and grid connections).

The Department has not produced an estimate of the data-centre capacity required specifically for the grid applications identified in the Interim AI Adoption Plan: Clean Energy.

The Government is, however, undertaking broader analysis of the potential growth in demand from AI and data centres as part of ongoing work on energy demand projections, electricity network planning and AI infrastructure policy.

My Department does not hold the information requested.

Although my Department collects and publishes quarterly planning application statistics here, it does not collect separate figures on data centre developments that have been granted planning permission.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 70258 on 3 September 2025.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to noise pollution in planning policy. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

DSIT engages regularly with DEFRA, the Environment Agency and DESNZ, to discuss the impact of AI data centres on the environment. Through the AI Energy Council, the Government is assessing and promoting energy efficiency and clean power solutions.

DSIT will also publish a National Policy Statement, which will establish clear expectations on the design and environmental considerations for data centres seeking development consent through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects planning process.

The Government is working closely with regulators and industry to ensure that regulatory requirements are proportionate, coordinated and minimise unnecessary duplication.

Through the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, the Government is bringing data centres within the Network and Information Systems framework and placing them under the oversight of Ofcom. This will create consistent minimum security and resilience requirements across the sector. Other regulatory frameworks will continue to apply where appropriate, including relevant planning, energy, and environmental requirements.

The Government keeps risks to Critical National Infrastructure, of which data centres are a part, under continuous review through the National Risk Register process and extensive engagement with industry. As the department responsible for data infrastructure, DSIT also conducts rolling assessments of the risk of a cyber-attack to data centres. This is supplemented by DSIT’s ongoing engagement with the sector to continuously test the capabilities of data centres against known threats, including cyber attacks. DSIT’s assessments consider the potential disruption, compromise or denial of essential services resulting from a successful cyber attack on data infrastructure, and inform national resilience planning assumptions.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology engages regularly with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to ensure the UK energy system supports the UK’s growing digital and AI‑driven demand. DSIT also engages closely with DEFRA and the Environment Agency, recognising the need to ensure AI infrastructure does not compromise the resilience of public water supplies.

Defra is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Environment Agency and water companies to improve understanding of data centre water demand. Defra is building the evidence base on water use, considering its implications through national water resources planning, and supporting efficient, sustainable water use by the sector.

The expansion of AI infrastructure is critical to the UK's long-term economic growth, resilience, and global competitiveness. Government is working with industry to improve understanding of the demand for agricultural land.

National planning policy gives clear preference for development sited on brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land. Where development of agricultural land is necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.

The Land Use Framework included a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England while increasing resilience to climate change and protecting best and most versatile land.

Data centres can be significant sources of employment, both during construction and to operate and maintain the data centres once completed. These include highly specialised jobs across IT, engineering, cybersecurity, and support services. Data centres also indirectly support employment in other industries, particularly in tech and AI.

My Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of jobs that will be created due to the substantial potential investment in the UK by data centre developers but is actively monitoring the sector.

TechUK have estimated that by 2035 there could be 40,200 additional jobs directly employed in data centre operational roles and 18,200 additional jobs directly employed in data centre construction roles over the period 2025–35.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology engages regularly with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to ensure the UK energy system supports growing digital and AI‑driven demand.

This year, the Government passed legislation that facilitates the direction of data centres into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects planning process. The National Policy Statement for Data Centres, when published, will provide a clear framework for the relevant Secretary of State to grant development consent to data centres through this process.

Water companies do not have to supply water to cool data centres. Data centres may be refused a supply connection if there are not sufficient water resources available. Government encourages developers to consider use of non-potable water, to embed water efficiency or water recycling and reuse in their design and contact their proposed water and wastewater supplier early in the planning process to understand and plan for any potential water restrictions.