Minerals Producers Association   The Aggregates Levy (AGL) was established in 2002 to generate revenue from the sales of primary aggregate for use in construction. The AGL has been applied at a rate of £2.00 per tonne since 2009. AGL receipts have typically raised between £300m to £350m pa for HM Treasury (£407m in 2016/17), totalling £5bn since inception. The Levy itself was introduced as a means to better reflect the environmental costs of winning primary construction aggregates, and to encourage the use of alternative, secondary and recycled construction materials. To reduce the environmental consequences of winning primary construction aggregates, up to 10% of the revenue raised by the AGL was allocated to the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). This channelled around £20m pa (of a theoretical £30m pa) in England, to be invested in a number of schemes involving key mineral producing local authorities, e.g. Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Somerset as well as others involving and managed by Natural England, English Heritage and WRAP.

The ALSF ran successfully from 2002 until its withdrawal by DEFRA in 2011. During its life hundreds of projects were undertaken involving the industry, local communities, local authorities, regulators, NGOs and key experts drawn from educational organisations and beyond. It was widely regarded as a ‘force for good’ and a model approach. Ironically since its withdrawal other sectors such as wind and ‘fracking’ have set up schemes which are aimed at compensating local communities for the impact of their operations. It is estimated that, in reality only around 6% of total AGL receipts were recycled into ALSF. MPA has never accepted the demise of the ALSF. It believes that the decision was wrong in principle given the controversies surrounding the introduction of the AGL in the first place and the role the ALSF was to play in mitigating some of the economic impact of the AGL on the industry. However repeated attempts to convince DEFRA Ministers of the need for its re-introduction in some form have been fruitless. Austerity arguments are not accepted as the revenue from AGL continues. However MPA is realistic and has tailored the proposals for a new scheme by narrowing its scope and reducing the quantum sought. Click here to read more