Clause 42 and schedule 12 extend the scope of landfill tax to disposals made at sites without an environmental permit, in order to prevent rogue operators from profiting by avoiding landfill tax. The clause also brings clarity to what material is taxable at sites that do have a permit. Landfill tax was introduced on 1 October 1996 to discourage the disposal of waste to landfill, and encourage more sustainable ways of managing waste. Since the introduction of the tax in the UK, landfilling has gone down by more than 60%. Illegal waste sites are a blight on local communities and can cause serious environmental damage. Although the Environment Agency can impose fines and criminal sanctions on operators of illegal sites, they are outside the scope of the tax. With no landfill tax to pay, rogue operators can undercut legitimate operators and make significant profits.

The Environmental Services Association estimates that waste crime costs the English economy over £600 million annually, with up to £200 million of tax being avoided. At the spring Budget in 2017, the Government announced a consultation on whether to extend the scope of landfill tax to illegal waste sites. Following strong support from industry, the Government confirmed their intention to legislate to extend the scope of landfill tax to illegal waste sites from 1 April 2018. Alongside this, in response to broad industry support in the consultation announced at Budget 2016, the Government are amending the definition of a taxable disposal. That follows a 2008 Court of Appeal ruling that some material received at a landfill site and put to certain uses is not waste, and therefore not taxable. That has created uncertainty about what constitutes a taxable disposal and has led to increased complexity for operators.

The changes being made by this clause will make all persons who are responsible for disposals at illegal waste sites, across the supply chain, jointly and severally liable for the tax. They may also be liable for a penalty of up to 100% of the tax, and in the most severe cases, HMRC will be able to prosecute those involved. In order to address the primary concern raised by stakeholders during the consultation, safeguards have been put in place to ensure that any genuinely innocent parties will not be liable for the tax. The clause will give industry certainty about what constitutes a taxable disposal. Currently, material is considered to be waste if certain criteria apply. The changes made by this clause will remove the waste criteria; instead, all material disposed of at a landfill site will be treated as taxable waste unless it is specifically covered by an exception.

To simplify the system further, we are also removing the requirement to notify HMRC of restoration activities undertaken at a landfill site. These changes will support the legitimate waste management industry by simplifying the tax system and providing clarity for landfill operators.

Let me turn briefly to new clause 15, tabled by Opposition Members. This would require the Government to commission a review of these changes within three months of the passing of this Act. A full assessment of the impacts of this measure was published in September 2017. At that time, the Government assessed that the measure would increase the cost of the illegal disposal of waste at unauthorised sites and incentivise the disposal of waste at legal—and more environmentally friendly—waste management operations. Following this, the Office for Budget Responsibility published an assessment of the revenue impact of the changes; £145 million is expected over the five years following implementation. Those impacts were assessed with the full support of the waste industry, and after further contributions from the Environment Agency.

Information about landfill tax revenues and the volume of disposals is publically available. HMRC publishes its landfill tax receipts twice yearly. The Environment Agency publishes additional information annually about disposals at permitted sites and the number of illegal waste sites in England. As such, the Government’s view is that the proposed review is unnecessary. I therefore commend the clause to the Committee.