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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]

19 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Data Centres (Regulatory Framework)
Martin, Gillian SNP Aberdeenshire East Watch on SPTV

Scotland benefits from a robust, although complex, regulatory and policy landscape that applies to data centre development. Under national planning framework 4, the planning authority must consider the potential environmental impacts of any planning application.

Beyond that, when a site is under development and in operation, a number of environmental regulations might apply that relate to on-site combustion plant, air emissions, energy use and storage, water abstraction and discharge, use of fluorinated gas—F-gas—waste management and fuel and chemical storage. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is engaged in that framework and is working with UK regulators where such regulation is reserved.

In the same item of business

3. Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) Lab
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the regulatory framework currently in place to monitor the development and operation of data ce...
The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy (Gillian Martin) SNP
Scotland benefits from a robust, although complex, regulatory and policy landscape that applies to data centre development. Under national planning framework...
Sarah Boyack Lab
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has warned that, although the draft climate change plan outlines a range of policies that are aimed at increasing energy generati...
Gillian Martin SNP
I really like hearing examples of planning decisions that lead to co-location. Data centres need cooling and our homes and public buildings need heating, so ...
Sue Webber (Lothian) (Con) Con
The cabinet secretary has outlined some of the safeguards in the current regulatory framework. A massive data centre proposed in Edinburgh would be similar i...
Gillian Martin SNP
Sue Webber will know that I cannot comment on planning applications. However, it is important to note that, if a site does require an environmental impact as...