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

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, or intend to have, about the public health benefits associated with trees and green spaces as part of the development of the forthcoming England Trees Action Plan.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government recognises the significant public health and wellbeing benefits that trees and green spaces provide. Evidence shows that green neighbourhoods and access to trees and woodlands can improve health outcomes by encouraging physical activity, increasing mental wellbeing, improving air quality and by helping to create healthier, more attractive places to live and work.

The England Trees Action Plan is currently being developed and will be published later in 2026. We are working closely with industry, researchers and other stakeholders to shape the vision, priorities and content of the plan.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between tree canopy cover in urban areas and measurable outcomes for public health.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognise the link between mental and physical wellbeing and access to nature. Natural England research shows that we could save the NHS more than £2 billion a year if everyone had good access to green space. Urban green spaces alone support 2.1 million people to meet their weekly physical activity guidelines, avoiding health service costs of around £1.4 billion.

Forest Research has estimated that one additional tree per kilometre of street is associated with 1.18 fewer medical prescriptions per thousand population. If this represents a causal relationship it would translate to a value of £16 million of UK urban street trees through avoided antidepressant costs.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of data centres on local energy infrastructure, particularly during periods of extreme temperature.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

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.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of data centres on nearby protected nature sites, including the proposed Norwich Apex Data Centre in the River Yare valley in Norfolk.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

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.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the water usage requirements of large-scale data centres, particularly in times of drought.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

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.

Found: Supported by: Lord Krebs, Lord Bishop of Norwich, Baroness Young of Old Scone RUSSELL57 HOUSE OF LORDS

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, how many people were sent by the Church of England to the UN Climate Change (a) COP29 and (b) COP30 delegation.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

The Church Commissioners were represented at COP29 by Olga Hancock, Managing Director and Head of Responsible Investment. In her role as Co-Lead of the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance Policy Workstream, she engaged, alongside other investors, with senior negotiators on a range of finance-related issues, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) and Article 6 carbon market arrangements, to encourage a high level of ambition from COP participants.

The Church Commissioners also contributed to a climate finance roundtable hosted by the UN High-Level Climate Champions and met with ministers and heads of delegation from OECD member countries.

In advance of COP29, Church Commissioners staff convened an online meeting in October 2024 involving investors and officials from the US State Department's COP29 Finance Team. They also held discussions with representatives of His Majesty's Government and the Government of Canada.

The Anglican Communion were represented at COP29 by Archbishop Julio Murray Thompson, Bishop of Panama, former Primate of the Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America and Martha Jarvis, the Anglican Communion's Permanent Representative to the United Nations; their primary work focused on climate finance, supporting indigenous communities, and, as part of the Faith Pavilion, supporting efforts to tackle global debt.

At COP30, the Anglican Communion delegation was led by Archbishop Marinez of the Amazon, who hosted faith groups in Belém, Brazil. Shortly before COP30, Archbishop Marinez visited London to meet Members of both Houses of Parliament. The visit was organised by the Lord Bishop of Norwich. During the visit, the Church Commissioners and the Bishop of Norwich jointly hosted a meeting with Archbishop Marinez to discuss priorities for COP30, engage with local churches, and encourage prayer and support for the conference.