Item 6 on the agenda is the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017 (Reliefs) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019, and I call on the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd to move the motion—Rebecca Evans.

Motion NDM7120 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales; in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

Approves that the draft The Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017 (Reliefs) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 25 June 2019.

Motion moved.

Thank you. I'm pleased to present the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017 (Reliefs) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019. I'd like to put on record my thanks to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for its work in considering these regulations. These regulations are made under sections 8(5)(b), 33(1)(b) and 94(1) of the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017. The relate to amendments to the operation of site restoration relief and quarry relief. Regulation 2 will amend the definition of ‘restoration work’ to make it clear that restoration work carried out at a landfill disposal site that has not been capped is capable of being treated as restoration work for the purposes of the Act. A cap is a physical layer of protection that Natural Resources Wales, through its permitting requirements, will require a site to apply in order to contain and separate the waste from restoration work.

Since becoming operational in April 2018, the Welsh Revenue Authority has become aware that there may be landfill sites in Wales, known as inert sites, that Natural Resources Wales may not require to apply an engineered cap at the conclusion of disposal operations. This is because of the low environmental risk that the disposals made there pose. The result of the proposed amendment is that all landfill sites will become potentially eligible to claim site restoration relief, including inert landfill sites. 

Regulation 3 will amend the relief for the refilling of opencast mines or quarries. The proposed amendment slightly broadens the extent of the relief to allow qualifying mixtures of material, other than fines, to be deposited, in addition to purely qualifying material. This recognises that, in many cases, a qualifying material may contain a small and incidental amount of non-qualifying material that is a low environmental risk. It ensures that the WRA is able to operate the relief in a practical and proportionate way, without eroding the clear parameters and underlying principles of this relief. 

Although minor amendments, these regulations are an example of our responsiveness to operational practice. The amended regulations will help ensure that the relief for site restoration and refilling of quarries operate in a way that takes account of the social, economic and environmental context, and I ask Members to support these regulations. 

Thank you. I call on the Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, Mick Antoniw. 

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. The committee considered these regulations at its meeting on 8 July 2019 and we reported one merits point to the Assembly under Standing Order 21.3(i). Devolved taxes are paid into the Welsh consolidated fund, in accordance with the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016, which states that the Welsh Revenue Authority must pay amounts collected in the exercise of its functions into the Welsh consolidated fund.

These regulations amend the reliefs available in respect of landfill disposals tax, and so may necessarily affect the tax receipts collected and paid into the Welsh consolidated fund. The explanatory memorandum does not provide an estimate of the reduction in tax receipts expected as a result of the changes made by these regulations. We raised this matter and, in its response to us, which we noted during our meeting, the Welsh Government said that any potential revenue impact as a result of these amendments is likely to be negligible. The Welsh Government also said that the amended legislation will align with the current HMRC position and, therefore, it would have minimal impact on revenue. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.

Thank you. I call on the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd to reply. 

Thank you. As the Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has said, it's not anticipated that either of these areas of amendment would have a significant impact on tax revenue. It is, however, hoped that the amendments would make the administration of landfill disposals tax easier and fairer, and therefore have a positive impact on the tax risk work of the WRA in these areas. 

For the relief for refilling opencast mines and quarries, we don't anticipate this change benefiting any sites other than those currently claiming quarry relief. And this change is more to ensure legislation and practice are aligned in terms of the material going into the quarry. Our amended legislation will align with the current HMRC position, and therefore we'd expect a minimal impact on revenue. 

And the change to the definition of 'site restoration work' will mean that inert sites in Wales may be able to claim site restoration relief, even if they do not have a cap. Many of those sites would have been able to claim quarry relief on most of the restoration work in any event, so this offsets the potential revenue impact. 

I thank the committee for its work and, although simple, these regulations seek to ensure that the legislation is practically workable and gives a fair and consistent result to landfill site operators. 

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? No. Therefore, the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.