Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Ministers in his Department were made aware of HM Revenue and Customs' proposed changes to the definition of qualifying materials for the lower rate of landfill tax.

In response to concerns over the mis-description of fines (residual waste from waste processing produced by mechanical treatment plants) the Government announced in Budget 2014 a consultation on introducing a new testing regime. This loss on Ignition (LOI) testing regime will help operators of landfill sites to determine the correct landfill tax liability of fines.

The proposal for this test arose from a government-industry working group, including representatives from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), HM Treasury, the Environment Agency, the Environmental Services Association (representing the main landfill site operators) and the United Resource Operators Consortium (UROC) (representing waste transfer stations and skip hire operators). The Government held a formal consultation over the summer which closed on 19 September 2014.

Comments on the assessment of impacts in the Taxes Impact Assessment were welcomed within the consultation document. The Government is currently considering its response and an impact note will be published alongside draft legislation.

HMRC is also considering revising its guidance on landfill tax lower rating and conducted an informal consultation with industry in Autumn 2013. That consultation is continuing through the government-industry working group. The proposed revisions include clarification on the landfill tax liability of hazardous wastes.

In relation to hazardous waste, the Government apply the underlying principle of the more polluting the waste the higher the tax. According to existing guidance, wastes must be non-hazardous to qualify for the lower rate of landfill tax. As the informal consultation raised concerns over the potential impact on brownfield development there are no plans to publish the revised guidance until this issue has been resolved. Publication of any revised guidance will only go ahead once Ministers have given approval.

Bottom ash from waste combustion is liable to the lower rate of landfill tax. There are no plans to change this policy.