To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to include in their calculations in relation to landbanks mineral sites not currently being worked when planning permission for working exists.

The advice given in minerals planning guidance note 6 is that a sufficient stock of permitted reserves—a landbank—should be maintained for all aggregate minerals. This landbank should be sufficient to provide for at least 10 years extraction unless exceptional circumstances prevail. All mineral sites with planning permission, regardless of whether they are in current production, should be taken into account in calculating this landbank.