Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the context of the development of the Circular Economy Growth Plan, whether her Department holds data on (a) how many metric tonnes of recycled aluminium were imported into the UK in each of the last recorded five years;(b) from which countries did the UK import that recycled aluminium; and (c) what was the financial cost of purchasing that recycled aluminium in each of the last recorded five years.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK.

HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. You can build tables, using the commodity codes published in the UK Trade Tariff. Aluminium is classified in Chapter 76 of the tariff.

The website will give information on value, amounts and the countries involved, however recycled aluminium does not have a dedicated commodity code.

If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.