The below Council Motion is from Flintshire Liberal Democrats and was passed unanimously at a recent council meeting.
The motion calls for taxes on mining in Wales – which currently all go to central UK Government – to be devolved for community benefits. Scotland has recently passed an act to allow for this.
The below motion is the exact one moved in Flintshire. However if there is a lot of quarrying in your council area this is a good motion to adapt and move to call for a fair distribution of levies on quarrying so local communities affected receive their share. Data for North Wales authorities can be found on this report here.
Council notes that:
- Under the UK Aggregates Levy, quarry operators and importers of aggregates currently pay £2.03 per tonne (rising to £2.08 per tonne from 1.4.25) to the UK Government.
- Until 2011 an Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund was in place which enabled local communities to bid for grants that would benefit their areas.
- Since 2011 the UK Government has treated the Aggregates Levy as general tax income which means there is no longer any proportional benefit to the communities affected by the extraction of aggregates in their areas.
- The Scotland Act gave the Scottish Parliament the power to introduce a devolved tax on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in Scotland which is likely to take effect from 1 April 26. It is understood that there are currently no similar plans for Wales.
- North Wales (comprising the 6 unitary authorities of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham, plus Eryri) extracts approximately 7 million tonnes of aggregate each year, with Flintshire extracting the largest amount – approximately 3 million tonnes. The majority of this is crushed rock (mainly limestone) at 2.8 million tonnes plus some sand and gravel.
- Flintshire is a net exporter of aggregate.
- If Flintshire County Council received the Aggregates Levy directly this would amount to approximately £6m gross annually.
Council believes:
- It is inequitable that local authorities and their communities which are affected by aggregate extraction do not benefit proportionally from the monies received through the Aggregates Levy.
- For too long Wales has been exploited for its natural resources with inadequate financial return to Wales.
- With increasing budget pressures year after year it is imperative that Flintshire County Council seeks to maximise appropriate sources of income, including its fair share from the Aggregates Levy.
- Local authorities are best placed to determine the needs of their local communities rather than central governments.
Council resolves to:
- To request the Leader and Chief Executive of the Council to write to Mark Drakeford MS as Cabinet Member for Finance and call on Welsh Government to negotiate with the UK Government the devolution of the Aggregates Levy in such a way as to ensure that local authorities in whose areas minerals are extracted benefit directly and proportionately from the Levy.
- To elicit support for this approach from other local authorities through its membership of the North Wales Regional Aggregates Working Party and through other appropriate channels.
Source: North Wales Regional Aggregates Working Party Annual Report 2022