Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that the United Kingdom aggregates industry can compete fairly against overseas suppliers.

Returning the UK to balanced and sustainable growth is a key priority and Industrial Strategy is a key part of the plan. Improving the UK’s trade position is central to much of Industrial Strategy.

The trade position in UK aggregates is positive. In the most recent quarter (2014Q3), provisional figures from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills show that UK exports of aggregates outstripped exports by 5,958 thousand tonnes (6,904 thousand tonnes of exports, compared to 946 thousand tonnes of imports).

The level of imports and exports in non-specialist aggregates to the UK is relatively low. For instance, over the same quarter (2014Q3), provisional figures for UK sales of sand for building and concreting totalled 6,951 thousand tonnes, compared to UK imports of 370 thousand tonnes of sand for construction and exports of 165 thousand tonnes.

The Aggregates Levy – an environmental tax levied on commercially exploited aggregates – has been frozen for the last four years to support the construction industry. The tax is levied on imported aggregate, but not on that exported by UK producers, enabling them to compete fairly with overseas suppliers. The Government remains committed to reinstating the Aggregate Levy Credit Scheme in Northern Ireland following a positive decision by the European Commission earlier this year. The credit scheme helped mitigate the different market conditions the aggregates industry in Northern Ireland faces due to sharing a land boundary with another EU Member State.