The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has submitted a comprehensive set of proposals to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of the 2023 Autumn Budget. The asks, urging action on trade, peat-free transition, and SME support, are vital to ensure environmental horticulture can continue to deliver its potential for the UK economy and environment.
Environmental horticulture – from gardens to full-scale landscapes in rural and urban areas – is a crucial part of the nation’s economic and environmental landscape. Contributing £28.8bn to the UK economy, supporting 674,000 jobs and playing a central role in underpinning the UK’s environmental and net-zero goals.
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the HTA, said:
“Our members – right across the supply chain, from growers to garden centres and manufacturers – have shown remarkable resilience in dealing with volatility and challenges around climate change, high inflation, access to a workforce and changes in regulations. However, government action is essential to help our businesses flourish. We have set out realistic proposals to acknowledge the economic challenges faced by the country, and we strongly believe with targeted investment and a reduction of red tape, we can facilitate growth within environmental horticulture and benefit the broader UK economy and environment.
“Principally, we need to see better regulation around the ease of trading across borders, support for a sustainable transition to peat-free, and a reduction in the regulatory and financial burdens on SMEs. Environmental horticulture touches everybody’s lives, whether in private gardens or public parks and in addition to its economic and environmental delivery, it has been proven to be invaluable to the nation’s health and wellbeing. It is vital that government recognises and acts upon that.”