Former Environment Secretary George Eustice has warned a Treasury tax change could damage UK ports, infrastructure projects and local authorities by sharply increasing the cost of disposing contaminated dredging material.
Eustice is campaigning against the government’s decision to remove a Landfill Tax exemption covering stabilisers used to treat dredged waste, arguing ministers have wrongly described the measure as a loophole.
Former Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “The government now describes the stabiliser exemption as a loophole, but it was introduced with a very clear purpose – to protect ports and navigation routes which are so essential to the UK economy.”
He added: “Its removal will damage the Government’s commitment to boosting growth and its mission-led focus on infrastructure.”
Landfill Tax is charged on waste sent to landfill but contaminated material dredged from ports, harbours, rivers and canals has long been exempt.
The exemption dates back to the Finance Act 1996 and was extended in 2007 after rules changed to stop liquid waste going directly into landfill.
That meant dredged material had to be treated and stabilised before disposal, with a dedicated statutory instrument introduced to protect the exemption.
Eustice argues the policy was not an accidental drafting error but a deliberate decision to protect navigation routes, port operations and essential infrastructure.
Industry figures warn removing the exemption from April 2027 will raise disposal costs before alternative treatment or recycling infrastructure is ready.
They say that could hit ports, waste operators, construction schemes and local authorities already working on long-term projects.
Eustice said the change “places at risk industrial and development projects, particularly in ports, rivers and canals, and would cost local authorities at least £20m per year”.
He warned that cost would “likely fall back on the Treasury in any case” under the new burdens doctrine.
The former Defra Secretary said industry had repeatedly warned officials and Exchequer Secretary Dan Tomlinson about the risks.
He said: “Industry has repeatedly told officials and warned the Minister that this is reckless. With any ill-judged decision in government, the best that any Minister can do is correct mistakes quickly and decisively.”
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