The Minerals Products Association says scrapping the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund will work against localism

Plans to scrap the fund generated by the UK's aggregates tax has been criticised by the 2897Mineral Products Association which has said the plan will work against localism.

Around 7% of the aggregates tax is currently used to create the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund which is used to fund community, NGO and stakeholder projects but plans to axe the fund have been unveiled by the UK government."There is no justification for this decision," said MPA chief executive Nigel Jackson. "The ALSF is an integral part of the Aggregates Levy scheme and is the means by which a small proportion of the revenue raised by the Levy brings real benefit to communities in areas affected by aggregate extraction and generates very significant conservation successes.

"The ending of the Fund would be an enormous own goal for 4358DEFRA and Government, as it runs contrary to the key objectives of empowering local communities through the "localism" concept and improving biodiversity and conservation. Given that the planned April increase in the Aggregates Levy rate will generate an additional £15million per year of tax revenue the ALSF can and should be afforded."