The basic rate of landfill tax is £2 a tonne; the clause will put that up to £2.50 a tonne. Will my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary reconsider that rate and work on classification issues with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency? If certain things are classified as inactive or inert waste, they will attract the much lower rate of duty and probably be put into landfill, as the cost to the concern of doing so will be less. That would result in loss of revenue as well as environmental consequences. I am sure that DEFRA and the Treasury are already working on that.

I am particularly concerned with fly-ash, notto be confused with fly-tipping, which is produced principally by coal-fired power stations. I am indebted to Thomas Duve, who wrote an article for the “Science in Parliament” magazine in spring this year for the following information. Fly-ash is a glass, silica-rich mineral that is left over when coal is burnt, and a lot of coal contains it to a greater or lesser extent. It is currently classified as inactive waste and is landfilled at £2, which will increase to £2.50 a tonne.

In many other European Union countries fly-ash is recycled for other uses, so because of the classification and tax issue, which at £2 and what will be £2.50 a tonne is rather low, we are not recycling what our European neighbours are. That creates a double negative: we do not use the useful material that will be in heaps outside every coal-fired power station and we are clogging up landfill sites. Will my hon. Friend assure me that he will look at those two issues? First, will he reconsider the rate, even though it is increasing from £2 to £2.50 and it has been announced that it will go up to £3.00 a tonne for inactive waste? Secondly, will he discuss with his colleagues in DEFRA and the Environment Agency whether the classifications for materials such as fly-ash and others are right? If they are not right, we have a double-whammy because there is a loss of revenue and an environmental negative as material is going to landfill that need not do so.