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Questions tracker
Every question on this site in one place: who it should go to, whether it has been asked, and what has come back. A question that is never answered should be visible.
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Pick a question
Each question is drafted in full and says who it should go to. Copy it, adapt it to your own case, and send it in writing.
Keep your own record
Download the tracker as an Excel spreadsheet. It has columns for the date you sent each question, the date of any reply, and what the reply said.
Tell us what comes back
Send us any reply, or a link to it on WhatDoTheyKnow. We will update the public tracker so that everyone can see which bodies have answered and which have not.
| Ref | Issue | Question | To | Status | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1 | Water | Please confirm the applicant's estimated annual and peak-day water consumption for this proposal, the assumptions behind the peak figure, and whether the water company has confirmed in writing that it can meet that peak demand during drought conditions. If this information is not on the planning file, please say so. | the local planning authority (planning officer for the application) | Drafted · not yet sent | If not provided, request the water company's consultation response and any correspondence under the Environmental Information Regulations via WhatDoTheyKnow, addressed to the council and, separately, to the water company. |
| W2 | Water | On what legal or contractual basis would a data centre be required to reduce or stop using water before household and agricultural users during a drought; who would decide when that applied; and will that basis be published before planning permission is granted for further data centres? | the Welsh Government minister responsible for water (in England, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any internal advice on data centres and drought planning would be a useful parallel step. |
| W3 | Water | Does the designation of data infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure give data centres any priority for water supply over households or agriculture during a shortage? If so, on what basis; if not, will the Government say so publicly? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), asking that it also be put to Defra | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. Once answered, compare the reply with the relevant water companies' drought plans, which can be requested under the Environmental Information Regulations via WhatDoTheyKnow. |
| W4 | Water | Has Natural Resources Wales, or the Welsh Government, assessed water stress at the locations of data centres proposed in Wales, in the way the Environment Agency classifies water stress in England? If so, will it be published; if not, is such an assessment planned? | Natural Resources Wales | Drafted · not yet sent | A freedom of information request to Natural Resources Wales via WhatDoTheyKnow would test whether any unpublished assessment exists. |
| E1 | Power | Please confirm the maximum electrical capacity, in megawatts, this development will draw from the grid; whether a grid connection offer has been accepted; what reinforcement works (substations, lines or cables) the connection depends on; and who will pay for them. | the local planning authority (planning officer for the application) | Drafted · not yet sent | If not answered on the planning file, request the information under the Environmental Information Regulations via WhatDoTheyKnow, then put it to the network operator and Ofgem. |
| E2 | Power | Does the capital investment announced for data centres in Wales include the cost of the grid and transmission upgrades needed to serve them? If not, who will bear that cost, and what assessment has been made of its effect on other priorities, such as connecting renewable generation and new homes? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy (in England, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Welsh Government for any assessment of grid-reinforcement costs linked to the South Wales AI Growth Zone would be a useful parallel step. |
| E3 | Power | Given the Government's confirmation that its demand projections do not disaggregate data centres, will it publish a separate projection of data-centre electricity demand, and its carbon consequences, for each nation and region of Great Britain, including Wales? | the UK Government, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | A related question has already been answered: Written Question 127433 (April 2026) confirmed the projections are not disaggregated. This question builds directly on that answer. | |
| E4 | Power | How many hours a year are the backup generators expected to run for testing and in emergencies, on what fuel, and will their run-hours and emissions be reported publicly every year? Has an environmental permit been sought for them? | the local planning authority, and Natural Resources Wales or the Environment Agency | Drafted · not yet sent | Generators of this size may need an environmental permit; if so, the application and any monitoring can be requested from the regulator via WhatDoTheyKnow. |
| E5 | Power | In relation to application 26/00109/HYB: why was a new scoping opinion not required, when the 2022 scoping opinion (SC/21/00018/MJR) was given for commercial units rather than a 150 MW data centre with a 47 MW energy centre; does the Environmental Statement quantify the waste heat the development would produce and assess the feasibility of using it, as the 2022 opinion asked in respect of a local heat network; will the Council publish screening opinion SC/21/00006/MJR; and do the Heads of Terms agreed with Curtis Hall for the sale of the site allow a data centre and gas-fired energy centre, when the land was marketed for a logistics centre, and what arrangements has the Council made to keep its interest as landowner separate from its role as planning authority? | Cardiff Council, as local planning authority (Head of Planning) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for the correspondence agreeing that scoping need not be repeated, for the screening opinion, and for the Heads of Terms (which the Council may withhold as commercially confidential), could follow. |
| E6 | Power | Will the temporary energy centre of up to 47 MW and the standby generators proposed at Cardiff East require an environmental permit; if so, will the application have to include the cost-benefit analysis required by Schedule 24 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016; does Natural Resources Wales consider that the analysis can extend to the heat produced by the data-centre equipment; and has it advised, or will it advise, Welsh Ministers on these matters? | Natural Resources Wales | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any pre-application or permitting correspondence on the site would be a natural follow-up. |
| E7 | Power | Will the Welsh Government require proposals for large data centres to show how their waste heat will be used, or why it cannot be, as it expects of combustion and energy-from-waste plant; will it consider co-location of data centres with heat networks or commercial glasshouses as part of its horticulture and food-security policy; and will it take these matters into account in deciding whether to determine the Cardiff East application itself? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary responsible for planning | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any advice to Ministers on data-centre waste heat could follow once a reply is received. |
| E8 | Power | For any further data-centre development at Bro Tathan, will any screening or scoping opinion require an assessment of the quantity of waste heat produced and the feasibility of using it, including for heat networks or horticulture, and of the reuse of any process water? | the Vale of Glamorgan Council, as local planning authority, and the Welsh Government, as landowner at Bro Tathan | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any screening or scoping opinions already issued for data-centre development at Bro Tathan would establish the current position. |
| W5 | Water | For application C25/0740/20/EIA, on what assumptions does the Environmental Statement rest for the maximum water demand of about 11.95 million litres a day and the expected normal demand of about 700,000 litres a day; in what conditions, and for how many days a year, is demand expected to approach the maximum; what cooling technology is proposed and will it use PFAS-containing fluids; and has Dŵr Cymru confirmed that the maximum can be supplied, and the resulting wastewater treated, without affecting other customers or the Menai Strait Special Area of Conservation? | Gwynedd Council, as local planning authority (Head of Planning), copied to Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to Gwynedd Council for the consultation responses of Dŵr Cymru and Natural Resources Wales could follow if they are not on the public file. |
| W6 | Water | Will the Government introduce mandatory reporting of energy and water use by individual data centres in the United Kingdom, published site by site, and will it ensure that such figures are not withheld from the public on grounds of commercial confidentiality? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), asking that it also be put to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for any assessment of mandatory data-centre reporting, and of the EU scheme, could follow the reply. |
| W7 | Water | Will the Welsh Government require operators of data centres in Wales, through planning conditions or otherwise, to publish each year their energy use and their water use, including peak-month water use, for each site; and what information on the energy and water use of individual data centres in Wales does the Welsh Government or Natural Resources Wales currently hold? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary responsible for climate change and the environment | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Welsh Government and to Natural Resources Wales for the information they hold could be made at the same time. |
| C1 | Chemicals | What assessment has been made of the use of PFAS ('forever chemicals') in the fire-suppression and cooling systems of data centres operating or proposed in Wales, including the quantities used, the risk of release, and any guidance on safe decommissioning; and does that assessment have regard to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015? | Natural Resources Wales, and the Welsh Government minister responsible for the environment | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request to Natural Resources Wales via WhatDoTheyKnow would test whether any unpublished assessment exists. |
| C2 | Chemicals | In light of ChemSec's September 2026 survey finding that nine of the world's ten largest PFAS manufacturers plan to increase production to meet demand from artificial intelligence data centres, what assessment has the Department made of whether the evidence base underpinning the PFAS Plan accounted for this trend; and does it intend to revisit the Plan's timetable in light of it? | the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request to Defra via WhatDoTheyKnow, seeking any internal assessment of AI-driven PFAS demand, would be a further route. |
| B1 | Who benefits | Please set out the expected number of permanent on-site jobs at years one, five and ten of operation, as distinct from construction-phase employment, and the assumptions made about automation over that period. | the local planning authority, and through it the applicant | Drafted · not yet sent | Compare the answer with any staffing figures given in the developer's publicity and in government announcements. |
| B2 | Who benefits | What assessment has been made of the corporation tax and business-rates revenue forecast from data-centre operators in the UK and in Wales over the next five years, and what steps are being taken to ensure that profits attributable to UK data-centre operations are taxed in the UK? | HM Treasury and the Welsh Government | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow to both bodies could be made alongside it. |
| D1 | Data control | What assessment has the Government made of the risk that data held for public bodies, businesses and citizens in Wales [the United Kingdom] by companies headquartered in another state could be accessed, copied or withheld as a result of that state's laws, sanctions or financial pressure on those companies, rather than under Welsh or UK law; and what safeguards, for example requirements comparable to France's SecNumCloud qualification, are in place or under consideration for public-sector data, including data held at facilities such as Bro Tathan? | the Welsh Government minister responsible for digital and data policy, and in parallel Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Welsh Government and Digital Health and Care Wales, for any assessment of foreign-law exposure in their main cloud contracts, would be a useful parallel step. |
| D2 | Data control | Should certain categories of public-sector data (health, justice, policing and tax records) be subject to sovereignty protections beyond storage within the UK, and will public bodies disclose where backup copies of such data are held? | the UK Government and the Welsh Government | Drafted · not yet sent | A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow for the data-residency terms in a major public-sector cloud contract would test current practice. |
| D3 | Data control | Do NHS Wales bodies, Digital Health and Care Wales or the Welsh Government use, pilot or intend to procure data-analytics or data-platform software supplied by Palantir Technologies or any other US-headquartered provider for identifiable patient or citizen data; if so, who is the data controller, where is the data processed and backed up, what assessment has been made of exposure to the United States CLOUD Act, and what exit arrangements exist? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary responsible for health and social care, copied to the minister responsible for digital and data policy | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to Digital Health and Care Wales for any such contracts and data protection impact assessments could follow once a reply is received. |
| D4 | Data control | Will the Government accept the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's recommendation to exercise the February 2027 break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform contract; and what contingency plans has the Government made in case a US-headquartered provider of public-sector data infrastructure is compelled, under the CLOUD Act or otherwise, to give access to UK data or to withdraw its services? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence, asking that it be passed to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if the first part falls to that department | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to NHS England for the exit plan for the Federated Data Platform contract would be a natural follow-up. |
| D5 | Data control | What does the Government mean by sovereign AI capability in practice, and will it attach enforceable conditions to the planning, grid and energy advantages given to AI Growth Zones, including a right for the United Kingdom to reserve capacity in an emergency, a requirement that operators do not give another government's directions priority over their contracts with UK public bodies, disclosure to the Government of customer nationality and workload categories, and notification or prohibition of foreign military and intelligence workloads? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Letter drafted October 2026. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade for any agreements or heads of terms with AI Growth Zone operators would show whether any such terms exist. |
| D6 | Data control | Following the United States directive of June 2026 that removed access to two AI models for all non-US nationals, what assessment has the Government made of the exposure of UK public services and businesses to foreign export-control and similar decisions affecting AI services and computing capacity, and what contingency arrangements are in place? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Letter drafted October 2026. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any such assessment could follow, although national-security exemptions may well be claimed. |
| D7 | Data control | Does the lease to Vantage Data Centers at Bro Tathan, or any related agreement, give the Welsh or UK Government any right to reserve computing capacity in an emergency, or any information about, or control over, the customers served and the work carried out on the site? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary responsible for the economy, as landowner at Bro Tathan | Drafted · not yet sent | Letter drafted October 2026. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for the lease and related agreements could follow; commercial confidentiality is likely to be argued, but the public-interest test applies. |
| R1 | Resilience | Does increasing concentration of the UK's digital infrastructure among a small number of cloud providers and locations create strategic risks, and has the Government assessed them as part of designating data infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. |
| A1 | AI | Given the warnings issued by some of those building the most advanced AI systems, what would the Government regard as sufficient evidence to move from precaution to either reassurance or restriction, and who would decide? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), and the Welsh Government | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. The AI Security Institute's published evaluations are the natural point of comparison. |
| A2 | AI | What assessment has the Government made of deliberate-misuse risks, including biological, chemical, cyber and nuclear-adjacent scenarios, arising from AI systems that will run on data-centre capacity sited in the UK, and does that assessment form any part of the basis on which data infrastructure has been designated Critical National Infrastructure? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade via WhatDoTheyKnow could follow. |
| A3 | AI | What assessment has the Government made of the risk that a hostile state could develop dangerous AI capability using a small team and modest, difficult-to-track compute resources rather than a large, visible national programme, and does that assessment inform decisions on the location and security of AI-related data-centre infrastructure in the UK? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. |
| A4 | AI | Given the acknowledgement in the 2023 white paper that 'most of us are only now beginning to understand the transformative potential of AI', and that its principles remain non-statutory more than three years later, what evidence does the Government now rely on to justify accelerating AI infrastructure through AI Growth Zones and streamlined planning while statutory safeguards, including the promised binding regulation of the most powerful AI models, have not been introduced; and when will that legislation be brought forward? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any assessment underpinning the timing of the legislation would be a further step, although the exemption for the formulation of government policy may well be claimed. |
| A5 | AI | What assessment has been made of the energy, water, land and carbon costs of the AI computing capacity the Government is promoting, including the twentyfold expansion of public AI compute by 2030 and the AI Growth Zones; will that assessment be published; and will the advice of the AI Energy Council on water use be published? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), asking that it also be put to the minister responsible for energy | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for the AI Energy Council's minutes and advice would test what has been considered. |
| A6 | AI | Will the Government seek a statutory or contractual right for the AI Security Institute to test the most capable AI models before their release, given reports that it was not given pre-release access to Mythos 5.1? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Letter drafted October 2026. Update, 12 October 2026: the Minister told Parliament that pre-release access has been restored by agreement; the question of a legal right remains open. |
| A7 | AI | Will the Government publish a single account of how conflicts of interest are recorded and managed across AI investment, procurement and data-centre policy, including for ministers, officials and those managing the Sovereign AI Fund? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Letter drafted October 2026. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Cabinet Office for the guidance applied could follow. |
| A8 | AI | In the light of the Alan Turing Institute's report, which you have welcomed, will the Government require public services and operators of critical national infrastructure that adopt AI to maintain, and regularly test, a way of continuing to operate without it; and will AI developers and operators of AI data centres in the United Kingdom be required to report incidents in which AI agents escape their intended controls to the AI Security Institute and the National Cyber Security Centre? | Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for Artificial Intelligence (Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade for any guidance on AI fallback arrangements and incident reporting could follow. Update, 12 October 2026: the Minister told Parliament that incident and near-miss reporting is being considered for the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill; the detail remains open. |
| A9 | AI | What requirements does the Welsh Government place on Welsh public bodies that adopt AI systems to maintain a tested way of operating without them, and what consideration has it given to the Alan Turing Institute's finding that reliance on a small number of AI providers, cloud services and computing facilities could turn a single compromise or outage into a multi-sector event? | the Welsh Government minister responsible for digital and data policy | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. |
| B3 | Who benefits | Of the more than 11,500 jobs announced alongside Vantage Data Centers' £12 billion UK investment in January 2025, how many are expected to be permanent operational posts in Wales, as distinct from construction and supply-chain roles; and has the Welsh Government made any representations to the UK Government about how the UK's approach to AI regulation takes account of devolved responsibilities for planning, water and the environment, and of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any such representations, and for any jobs assessment relating to Vantage's South Wales campuses, could follow once a reply is received. |
| P1 | Governance | Will the Welsh Government publish a data-centre policy statement setting out how proposals will be assessed, how conflicts between its roles as landowner, promoter and regulator will be managed, and how host communities can expect to benefit? | the Welsh Government | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. |
| P2 | Bro Tathan | Please publish, or direct me to, the Environmental Impact Assessment screening opinion for the Bro Tathan data-centre application, together with the reasons for concluding that an Environmental Impact Assessment was not required, including how cumulative effects with other proposed data centres in the South Wales AI Growth Zone were considered. | Vale of Glamorgan Council (planning) | Answered | Asked via WhatDoTheyKnow on 11 September 2026; the Council released its screening file on 16 October 2026: see the request and documents. Follow-up question P5. |
| P3 | Bro Tathan | What investigation and remediation of PFAS contamination in the soil at the Bro Tathan site has been required as a condition of consent, how will any contaminated material be handled during construction, and will monitoring results be published? | Vale of Glamorgan Council and Natural Resources Wales | Drafted · not yet sent | Request the contaminated-land reports and any discharge-of-conditions submissions via WhatDoTheyKnow. |
| P4 | Bro Tathan | How has the Welsh Government managed the potential conflict between its roles as freeholder of the Bro Tathan site, promoter of the South Wales AI Growth Zone, and body responsible for the planning and data-governance framework; and will the principal terms of the 999-year lease be published? | the Welsh Government | Drafted · not yet sent | A freedom of information request via WhatDoTheyKnow for the lease terms may meet a commercial-confidentiality exemption; the public-interest test would then be the point to argue. |
| P5 | Bro Tathan | Was a screening opinion adopted under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2017 specifically for application 2023/00780/FUL, as distinct from reliance on the 2022 opinion for a smaller site? If so, please provide it and say whether it took account of the enlarged site of about 26.7 hectares, the former fire-training area identified by Natural Resources Wales as the main PFAS source area, and the 72 standby generators with a combined capacity of 120 MW. | Vale of Glamorgan Council, Head of Sustainable Development | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked. A request via WhatDoTheyKnow for any screening record or officer notes for that application could follow. |
| P6 | Bro Tathan | The Council's report on application 2023/00780/FUL records that land at Bro Tathan retained by the Welsh Government is not addressed by the remediation strategies submitted. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of PFAS contamination of soil and groundwater on its retained land there, including the former fire-training area, what remediation is planned, and who will pay for it? And before granting the lease, what due-diligence, environmental and data-protection assessments did the Welsh Government carry out, and how did it keep its roles as landowner, promoter of the investment and regulator separate? | the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary responsible for the economy, as landowner | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked. Requests via WhatDoTheyKnow to the Welsh Government for those assessments, and to Natural Resources Wales for any monitoring of PFAS in groundwater beneath the site and in the Boverton Brook, could follow. |
| Y1 | Who is affected | Where a data centre's demand on water, sewerage or grid infrastructure is regional rather than local, who should be treated as an affected party for consultation, and what mandatory reporting would be needed to identify them? | the Welsh Government and the UK Government | Drafted · not yet sent | Not yet asked, so far as we know. |
Status is updated by hand. At present every question is drafted but not yet sent, except where a related question has already been answered in Parliament.