§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Government are extending the aggregates levy relief scheme in Northern Ireland. The relief, which will continue to cover aggregate in processed products, will be extended to cover virgin aggregate exploited in Northern Ireland. Instead of the relief reducing annually until it ended in April 2007, the level of relief will now be fixed at 80 per cent of the full rate from 1 April 2004 and it will apply until 31 March 2011. The introduction of the new scheme follows notification from the European Commission on 7 May that the Government's proposals for extended relief have received state aid clearance.
Quarry operators in Northern Ireland will be able to claim the extended relief straight away, provided that they enter into agreements that will commit them to making significant environmental improvements to the way their operations are run. Initially operators will need to satisfy the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland (DoENI) that they hold or have applied for relevant regulatory authorisations, and enter into an agreement with DoENI, which will commit businesses to arrange a site audit, agree site-specific targets and comply with the code of practice for the aggregates industry in Northern Ireland. Continued eligibility for relief will depend on businesses meeting their agreed environmental targets, which will be regularly monitored and reviewed.