To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the environmental effects of extraction of primary aggregates. (185220)

My Department has not assessed the environmental impact caused by the extraction of primary aggregates.

DEFRA’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund has funded research on some of the impacts of extraction through its allocations to CLG, the Mineral Industry Research Organisation (MIRO) and English Heritage. A series of benchmark reports identifying the latest developments in good practice in managing these impacts is due to be launched by MIRO and English Heritage on 12 March 2008. A consultation is currently under way on the priorities for the ALSF from 2008 to 2011 including proposals on research covering the environmental costs of primary aggregates.