This report is one of two outputs from a project entitled 'The need for non-energy indigenous mineral production in England' which received funding from the Sustainable Land-Won and Marine Dredged Aggregate Minerals Programme of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). The study was one of five project undertaken to examine many different aspects of the current system for the supply of aggregates in England. This report describes the uses of aggregates and explains why they are considered to be essential for the development of a modern economy. It explains the significant benefits the aggregates industry brings to the English economy in terms of Gross Value Added and employment. It also provides a monetary estimate of the environmental cost of indigenous production of aggregates and examines whether the quantity of imports could be increased.