Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

The clause increases the lower and standard rates of landfill tax from 1 April this year. The rates will increase in line with RPI, adjusted to account for the high inflation in the period 2022 to 2024, and were first announced in the spring Budget 2024.

Landfill tax is charged on material disposed of at a landfill site or unauthorised waste site in England and Northern Ireland. The objective of landfill tax is to divert waste away from landfill and support investment in more circular waste management options, such as recycling, composting and recovery. Since 2000, landfill tax has contributed to a 90% decrease in local authority waste to landfill in England. Increasing the lower and standard rates of landfill tax by RPI in recent years has helped to maintain a strong price incentive to divert waste away from landfill.

The changes made by clause 70 would increase the lower rate of landfill tax from £3.30 a tonne to £4.05 a tonne from April 1 this year. They would also increase the standard rate of landfill tax from £103.70 a tonne to £126.15 from April 1. Landfill tax rates are rounded to the nearest 5p. The clause increases the rates of landfill tax in line with RPI adjusted for recent high inflation from April 1 2025, to maintain a strong price incentive to divert waste away from landfill.

Clause 75 amends the landfill tax rates to increase them in line with RPI, adjusted to account for high inflation between 2022 and 2024. As the Minister knows, when in government, we uprated landfill tax in line with RPI in the 2023 and 2024 Finance Acts. We also reduced the landfill tax gap from £275 million in 2017-18 to £100 million in 2022-23. How will the Government continue those strong efforts to further reduce the gap? I know it particularly exercised the Minister when he was in opposition—he certainly asked me a lot of questions on it. We will not oppose the clause, and I cannot wait to find out the Lib Dem position on it.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for supporting the clause. I fondly remember the questions I asked him about landfill tax when I was on the other side of this Committee Room, or a similar one on this corridor. I can reassure him that the current Government are considering the options for landfill tax reform, following the call for evidence that was undertaken in 2021. We will announce further steps in due course. The Government are considering options for landfill tax reform including opportunities to design out opportunities to commit waste crime, including landfill tax fraud. We will announce next steps in due course.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 75 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.