MPA welcomes the Government’s initiative to improve UK productivity, which the trade body says is "a key to sustained long term growth."

Issues such as the encouragement of private and public investment, the development of skills, effective and proportionate taxation and regulation and competitive energy supply are of prime importance to the UK Minerals Products industry, which underpins much of our national production and economic activity, the MPA said in a statement.

"Government will launch a specific review into regulatory issues relating to mineral extraction and MPA welcomes this and has initiated a process to contribute to this review," the MPA stated. The industry association further added that it "supports good regulation and, equally important, reasonable proportionate and consistent implementation of regulation.

"This approach to regulation needs to be matched by high operating standards by industry and we recognise that industry and regulators have to work together to ensure that the construction and other industries can receive the essential materials they need from responsible suppliers," the MPA concluded.