§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the environmental consequences of an aggregates tax. [124442]
§ Ms Beverley HughesAn aggregates levy would help to ensure that the environmental impacts of primary aggregates production not already addressed by regulation 63W are more fully reflected in prices. This would be expected to have the following environmental consequences: a reduction in the amount of primary aggregates extracted—and in the associated environmental impacts; an increase in the use of alternative materials which would otherwise be wastes and disposed of; and less wastage of all aggregates.
§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were the volumes of recycled/secondary aggregates used in the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years. [124439]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThese data are not available. Because of the difficulty in collecting the information, especially information on construction and demolition waste which arises on a very large number of temporary sites, consultants were asked to devise an appropriate collection system. The recommended system is being implemented.
Included in this is a survey of construction and demolition waste in England and Wales carried out in March by the Environment Agency, supported by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the National Assembly for Wales. The returns are being analysed at present. Data on other material used as aggregate will be published as part of the report on the Aggregate Minerals Survey 1997. The results of both surveys will be published this summer.
§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the volume of construction aggregates produced in the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years. [124438]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe total volume of crushed rock and sand and gravel produced for construction in the UK for each of the 10 years up to and including 1998, the most recent year for which reliable information is available, is set out in the table. The figures are those compiled by the British Geological Society using data from the Office for National Statistics and the Department of Economic Development (Northern Ireland). The figures for crushed rock used in these totals are for Great Britain only because crushed rock produced in Northern Ireland and used for construction is not specifically identified.
Thousand tonnes 1989 307,170 1990 285,631 1991 254,371 1992 242,879 1993 249,593 1994 271,176 1995 252,570 1996 229,271 1997 232,170 1998 230,031