Ahead of the Spring Budget on 8th March, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) has pressed the Government to continue to freeze the Aggregates Levy at its current rate of £2.00 per tonne.

Give the likely flattening of construction ouptut, and the need to stimulate growth, the MPA have stressed that Government should continue to freeze the existing aggregates levy as it is the wrong time to increase the costs of the construction supply chain. 

The MPA believes that Government should also extend the aggregates levy to include the aggregates content of imported materials such as concrete products which currently have an unacceptable competitive advantage over UK producers who are subject to full aggregates levy costs. This puts an unreasonable burden on UK buisnesses throughout the UK and particuarly Northern Ireland. 

Between 2001, the year preceding the introduction of the aggregates levy, and 2015 the identified imports of concrete products increased from £29.7 million to £207.3 million and the trade balance for these materials decilned from a surplus of £55.4 million to a deficit of £152.9 million. 

Further, the MPA believe that the Government should introduce a New Aggregates Levy Community and Biodiversity Fund in England using a small proportion of aggreagtes levy revenue (total revenue <£350 million pa) to support local communinty initiatives in quarrying areas. 

Ends.