Written Statements

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Written Statements

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Social Security update

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

The Tax Credits Act 2002 and the Social Security Administration Act 1992 place a statutory duty on His Majesty’s Treasury to review the rates of tax credits and child benefit each year in line with the general level of prices. There is a further statutory duty on the Treasury to increase guardian’s allowance in line with price growth. I have now concluded the review for the tax year 2027-28.

I have decided to increase child benefit rates in line with the consumer price index for the year to September 2026, which is 3.5%. Guardian’s allowance will also increase by the same rate. This means that, from 12 April 2027:

the child benefit rate for the eldest child will increase from £27.05 to £28.00 per week;

the child benefit rate for other children will increase from £17.90 to £18.55 per week;

guardian’s allowance will increase from £22.95 to £23.75 per week.

I have determined that there will be no need for changes to tax credits rates in the tax year 2027-28, as there are no tax credits awards after 5 April 2025.

The new rates will apply across the United Kingdom. I will deposit the full list of these rates in the Library of each House shortly.

[HCWS425]

Data Centres: Responsible Water and Energy Use

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

Today, along with the Minister for Artificial Intelligence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan), and the Minister for Energy, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), I wish to update the House on the Government’s approach to supporting the sustainable growth of data centres while protecting England’s water resources and helping to maintain a secure, affordable and flexible electricity system.

This statement is part of the Government’s package to deliver responsible data centre growth that backs investment and delivers for host communities. The package combines immediate action with longer-term reform. It aims to strengthen national resilience and support UK supply chains, skills and jobs, while unlocking investment and capacity to underpin AI-driven growth and productivity, built around four expectations: to protect bill payers; to put communities and their resources first; to reindustrialise Britain; and to strengthen UK sovereignty.

Data centres are critical national infrastructure that underpin almost all economic activity and enable the digital services that people and businesses rely on every day, from NHS patient records and banking platforms to communications and entertainment. In the water sector, they will improve how water mains, sewers and treatment plants are managed, enabling water companies to identify and address problems before failures occur. They will play an increasingly important role in national security, resilience and sovereign capability as well as delivering the Government’s ambitions for economic growth, world-leading scientific research, artificial intelligence and improved public services.

The impact of data centres on energy and water systems

As the sector grows, it is important that development takes place in a way that is environmentally sustainable and resilient to future pressures on both water resources and energy systems. Co-ordinated planning is therefore required to ensure that future demand can be met sustainably, while supporting the UK’s long-term water and energy resilience.

Data centres already require substantial electricity supplies, with current UK demand estimated at around 2 GW. Future requirements remain uncertain but could increase significantly as demand for compute and AI grows. Large, continuous and geographically concentrated demand can require additional generation and network infrastructure and create pressures on network capacity, system operability and security of supply. Greater energy efficiency, and flexibility in when, where and how energy is used, can help to manage these impacts and support a more efficient and resilient electricity system.

Evidence gathered by the Government and stakeholders suggests that current data centre water use remains a relatively small proportion of overall non-household consumption—estimated as less than 0.2% of the non-household sector in England—and that many facilities across England already use highly water-efficient cooling technologies. However, rates of potential future growth of the sector, particularly in areas already experiencing water stress that are more adversely affected during hotter periods, mean that greater action on controlling water use is crucial. Increased transparency and information sharing by the data centre sector on long-term planning and water use will be increasingly important. Water companies do not have to supply data centres with water, and therefore early engagement from data centre developers is essential.

Energy and water use are closely linked. Data centre cooling can involve trade-offs between the two: some technologies can reduce energy consumption but increase water demand. Decisions on cooling should therefore reflect local water availability, energy efficiency and broader environmental considerations, rather than considering either resource in isolation.

Improving transparency

The Government recognise the importance of robust and transparent data in planning for sustainable data centre growth, particularly given increasing public scrutiny, concerns from local communities, and heightened media interest in the sector. Greater visibility of water and energy will support water companies, regional planning groups, electricity network and system operators, regulators and the Government to understand future demand and ensure that long-term infrastructure and resource planning keeps pace with investment and development.

To improve transparency across the sector, we strongly encourage all data centre operators to publish and share with the Government annual reporting on environmental metrics, including water use and energy performance. Data centre operators should disclose total and peak water use, together with their water usage effectiveness. On energy, these disclosures should include power usage effectiveness, energy reuse factor, and an appropriate organisational carbon disclosure. Reporting should also cover the site’s technical capability to provide electricity system flexibility and its participation in flexibility services, whether directly or through a third party.

We will work with industry and regulators to develop consistent definitions and proportionate arrangements for the scope, verification and publication of this reporting. We expect the sector to provide this information voluntarily. However, if sufficient data is not provided, we will immediately consider whether a statutory reporting framework is required to ensure appropriate transparency and accountability.

Water and heat reuse

The Government ask developers to adopt a water use hierarchy for data centre development. Demand reduction and alternative water supplies have the potential to reduce pressure on drinking water resources and the environment while supporting continued investment in digital infrastructure. The water use hierarchy asks developers to:

Minimise water demand through water-efficient design, the provision of on-site water storage, operational optimisation, and the use of waterless or water-efficient cooling technologies.

Utilise recycled water once all reasonable demand-management options have been exhausted. Identify the most appropriate recycled source, starting with simpler and more sustainable options, such as rainwater harvesting, before moving to more complex sources, such as water reuse and treated waste water where these are environmentally appropriate and economically viable.

Only where demand management and recycled sources have been fully assessed and it is clear they cannot reasonably meet operational requirements should reliance on additional fresh water from the public water supply or environment be considered.

The Government will continue to explore and consider innovative solutions to demand management and use of alternative water sources. Treated waste water could provide a valuable alternative source of water for data centres and other contained industrial uses, particularly where it can reduce demand on drinking water supplies in water-stressed areas. We will work with water companies, developers and other relevant bodies to explore suitable projects that can demonstrate how treated waste water can be used safely and effectively for cooling and other non-potable applications. The Government and regulators are currently working together to clarify the regulatory pathways and identify practical opportunities for safe and sustainable reuse. This includes considering proportionate approaches for suitable lower-risk schemes, while ensuring that risks to the environment and public health are properly understood and managed.

Decisions on cooling should also assess the interaction between water and energy use so that reductions in one resource do not create disproportionate impacts on the other.

Data centre developers should consider opportunities to make productive use of waste heat. For new developments and material expansions, developers should undertake a heat reuse feasibility assessment, considering the proximity of potential users or networks, and the technical and practical requirements for connection. The findings should inform site design and identify whether a deliverable heat off-take arrangement is feasible. Where reuse is not pursued, the assessment should clearly explain why it is not deliverable.

Environmental resilience and sustainable growth

The Government encourage data centre developers and operators to take a strategic approach to understanding and managing their environmental dependencies, impacts and resource demands, helping to ensure that future growth supports long-term resilience and sustainable outcomes.

To do this, we ask data centre developers and operators to undertake location-specific assessments of their impacts and dependencies on nature and the energy system, and encourage both, where appropriate, to use the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures’ LEAP approach: locate, evaluate, assess and prepare.

We expect data centre developers to carefully consider anticipated water demand and efficiency, the availability of water resources, and waste water disposal within the relevant catchment. Assessment should be developed in consultation with the relevant water company, taking account of its water resources management plan and drainage and waste water management plan. The findings should inform decisions about site location and cooling technology. We expect that, by securing their own resilience, in the face of water scarcity, data centres will pave the way for future policy considering how other business and public users can maximise the value of their water.

We expect assessments to also consider the site’s expected electricity demand, peak load, energy efficiency, opportunities for demand flexibility, and the feasibility of recovering and reusing waste heat. These considerations should inform site design and early engagement with electricity network operators, local authorities and potential heat users.

We also encourage collaboration to identify opportunities that can strengthen water resilience and deliver wider environmental benefits. This includes exploring opportunities to support catchment-scale initiatives, and encouraging data centres to assess opportunities for co-location with complementary infrastructure to maximise the recovery and beneficial use of waste water and waste heat. Sites that incorporate environmental and drainage and waste water co-benefits—for example rain water management, sustainable drainage systems and tree planting features—are strongly encouraged. Planning applications should demonstrate that opportunities to connect waste heat to local heat networks, or the reuse of waste water within nearby industrial, energy and utility systems, have been considered.

Sustainable growth of the data centre sector and environmental stewardship must go hand in hand. By encouraging efficient use of water and energy, promoting the use of appropriate alternative water sources, improving transparency and supporting better long-term planning, the Government can enable continued investment in this strategically important sector while protecting water resources and supporting a secure and resilient electricity system.

[HCWS426]

High Streets Strategy

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

Thriving high streets are central to our national life. They bring communities together, provide essential services, support culture and heritage, and drive employment and local growth. Yet the economic model high streets have relied on has been disrupted by changing consumer habits, competition from online and out-of-town alternatives, and declining investment in the public realm—in the face of which many of these local assets have declined.

For many people, the neglect of the high street and the struggle many have faced to adapt to changing economic tides is a visible sign of a wider loss of control and pride in where they live. The replacement of banks, pubs, and shops with vape shops or vacancies is a powerful symbol of lost control and diminished pride.

But this decline is not inevitable—and if we are to restore hope and confidence across the country, there is no better place to start than our high streets.

That is why today the Government have laid in both Houses and published “Hope on the High Street”, our new high streets strategy, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hope-on-the-high-street

Our plan is to put high streets back under local control, backing local leaders to drive the change their community wants to see. Every town and city centre is its own unique ecosystem shaped by where it is and who it is for. We will not try and fix everything from Westminster. Instead, we are backing councils, mayors and communities with new powers and investment—and tackling the cost of doing business.

We believe that the job of this Government is to support local leaders to build the high street their community wants. The strategy sets out the six pillars of a successful high street:

Active leadership and management; reasons to have confidence

Strong businesses, anchors and amenities; reasons to visit

Vibrant culture, leisure and entertainment; reasons to stay

Easy access and connectivity; reasons to explore

Safe, clean and welcoming; reasons to return

A place to call home; reasons to move in

Taken together, they can increase footfall and spending, reduce vacancies, strengthen business resilience and productivity, attract investment, and build confidence among residents, businesses and investors.

The strategy recognises the vital importance of improving the conditions for businesses to set up and grow on the high street. The Government are providing an extra 20% relief for pubs, social clubs and all but the very largest live music venues in England from 1 April 2027. This is in addition to the support introduced earlier this year, bringing the total relief to 35%.

Today’s Budget confirms further steps to back retail, hospitality and leisure businesses of all sizes, many of which had been facing significant business rates bill increases. The decisions set out in the Budget mean that RHL businesses in England will see their business rates either frozen in real terms, reduced, or cut to zero, while ensuring that half of all RHL properties in England will not pay business rates at all from 1 April 2027.

The Budget also confirms we will remove business rates reliefs from vape shops and adult gaming centres, to better target those reliefs at businesses that support thriving high streets. From April 2027, vape shops and adult gaming centres in England will no longer be eligible for the RHL multipliers, and vape shops will also lose eligibility for small business rates relief. This builds on the steps we have announced to end the requirement for licensing authorities to “aim to permit” gambling premises, and our proposals to require new vape shops to obtain planning permission, giving councils and communities a greater say over where they are located. A new model design code will also support councils to impose higher-quality, more consistent design standards for shopfronts.

The strategy also supports high streets to adapt, bringing vacant premises back into productive use and encouraging a greater mix of activities in town centres.

Our £210 million community assets programme will provide practical investment to tackle vacancy and dereliction, protect valued community assets, support co-operative development and strengthen local capacity to renew high streets. This funding is available within England.

The package comprises four complementary funding streams:

£125 million derelict buildings fund to help 60 local authorities bring prominent vacant and derelict high street buildings back into productive use.

£65 million to help communities acquire and protect valued local assets, from pubs to local sports facilities, aided by new community right to buy powers. Funding will be open to applications across England.

£10 million for high street rental auctions to help councils accelerate and expand their use of the powers and bring persistently vacant commercial premises back into use. Funding will be open to applications across England.

£10 million regional co-operative development programme to help strategic authorities grow their co-operative economies and support community-owned businesses.

More detail on this funding can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-assets-programme

To accelerate adaptation, the Government will empower local authorities to better take on business rates avoidance by expanding the funding provided for the costs of challenging avoidance in courts; and introducing a general anti-avoidance rule, giving local authorities the powers they need to better take on non-compliance.

The strategy also expands the role that public services and workplaces can play in successful high streets, through a new “high streets first” principle. This will encourage public bodies to consider the wider benefits their estate decisions can bring to high streets and local growth, making better use of the public estate as a strategic asset that enables placemaking and regeneration. This principle is backed by a number of policies, including local asset management plans co-designed with mayoral strategic authorities, place-based business cases to align investment around a shared vision for places, and a greater say for mayors in significant estates decisions.

The strategy also sets out measures that the Government will explore to create stronger conditions for growth in town centres, including the possibility of community enterprise zones as a vehicle for high street renewal, and hospitality or vibrancy zones to support to bring town centres to life outside of core retail hours. We will also explore how licensing can better support economic growth, including considering putting the national licensing policy framework for the hospitality and leisure sectors on a statutory footing.

The Government also recognise the significance of crime and organised crime as crucial factors in deterring people from visiting high streets, and undermining the viability of high street businesses. The strategy sets out how the Government are acting to deliver on existing commitments to crack down on these threats, including through a £30 million national crackdown on organised crime and stronger powers to close premises linked to criminality.

This strategy sets a clear direction of travel for high streets, but it is not the end of our work. We will continue to work across Government and with local leaders, businesses and communities to identify where further action is needed. We will use the forthcoming “rewiring the state” delivery plan and future fiscal events to consider where additional powers, funding or reforms are needed to help places deliver lasting change. The new place regeneration taskforce, part of the Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, will continue to champion an ambitious approach to high street regeneration as part of its work.

The state of our town and city centres says so much about us, who we are as a country, and whether we are on the right path. We need to get them booming again, so that people can see that our best days are ahead of us. The Government have every faith that the future can be so much brighter than anything before us and that, together, we can bring back hope again.

[HCWS428]

State Pension and Benefit Rates 2027-28: Statutory Review

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)]

I have concluded my statutory annual review of state pension and benefit rates under the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The new rates will apply in the tax year 2027-28 and will mainly come into effect from 12 April 2027.

I am pleased to announce that the basic and full rate of the new state pensions will be increased by 3.9%, in line with the increase in average weekly earnings in the year to May-July 2026.

This delivers on our triple lock commitment throughout this Parliament to increase these rates in line with the highest of growth in prices, growth in earnings or 2.5%. From April, the full annual rate of the new state pension will increase by around £490. The full annual rate of the basic state pension will increase by around £375.

The standard minimum guarantee in pension credit will also increase by 3.9% in line with the increase in average weekly earnings. From April, it will be £247.30 a week for a single pensioner and £377.40 a week for a couple, ensuring the incomes of the poorest pensioners are protected.

Other state pension and benefit rates covered by my statutory review will be increased by 3.5%, in line with the increase in the consumer prices index in the year to September 2026.

This includes most working-age benefits and other benefits for people below state pension age; benefits to help with additional needs arising from disability; statutory payments including statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay; and additional state pension. The pension credit savings credit maximum amount will also increase by 3.5%.

The Universal Credit Act 2025 removed the standard allowance and health elements of universal credit, as well as their employment and support allowance equivalents, from my review. The Act delivered important changes to rebalance universal credit to tackle perverse incentives in the system. The UC standard allowance for a single person aged 25 or over will increase by around £219 a year. That is over £45 more than if uprated by inflation alone. For couples, where one member is aged 25 or over, it will increase by around an additional £344 a year. That is approximately £71 more than if uprated by inflation alone. These changes narrow the gap between the standard rate of universal credit and the health-related element, helping to strengthen incentives to move into and progress in work.

The majority of these increases will apply across Great Britain, except for personal independence payment and other benefits to help with additional needs arising from disability, and the rate of carer’s allowance, which will only apply to England and Wales. In Scotland, these are devolved matters.

All social security, including state pensions, is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland.

While not part of my formal uprating review, I can confirm that local housing allowance rates and the benefit cap will be maintained at their current levels and not increased for 2027-28.

I will place the full list of proposed state pension and benefit rates for 2027-28 in the Library of each House and on www.gov.uk in due course.

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