The Association attends House of Lords debate

Last week, the Association joined several industry organisations, including the HTA, HortWeek, Arb Association and Godwin's to attend the House of Lords debate led by Lord Redesdale on the motion that the House takes note of the report from the Horticultural Sector Committee 'Sowing the seeds: A blooming English Horticultural Sector'. The debate was opened by Lord Redesdale, followed by contributions from 11 other members of the House of Lords, before a conclusion from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Douglas-Miller.  
 
Lord Redesdale began stating his disappointment that the horticulture and landscaping industry is politically undervalued by Government, and that Government should be more proactive and supportive. The Government response to the report showed agreement with general sentiments, but there was little commitment to policy change; ultimately resulting in a disappointing response to the report overall.  
 
With the report highlighting the fragmented nature of responsibilities between different departments being a real impediment on the sector's ability to operate and grow, many Lords concurred and emphasised the importance of creating of a dedicated Horticultural Minister and a Horticulture Strategy for England.   

Baroness Fookes, who was instrumental in the convening of the Horticulture Sector Committee  said that the Government’s response “had a lot of Civil Service language full of good intentions and not enough action”, and pointed out the absence of a national horticulture strategy for England is a failure of action and called for the Government to make more long-term plans for the sector because "people involved in horticulture need to know and have some degree of certainty about what the Government’s attitude will be. There is what I call an obsessive reliance on short term, competitive projects”.  
 
Many of the Lords also called for clearer strategy and funding for food security, research, and innovation support from the government in addition to wider remarks around the improvements needed for seasonal worker schemes and sustained funding and initiatives to promote horticultural and landscaping careers among young people.  
 
Baroness Fookes urged the Government to reconsider its position on research funding and its impact on the chances of future generations enjoying high level careers in horticulture and landscaping. Additionally, how the Government should also look at the early stages of T-level qualifications clearly to make sure that they meet both the aspirations of the students and the needs of the industry where they will be employed.  
 
All members highlighted the mental and physical benefits that green spaces bring. The Bishop of Newcastle and Baroness Hayman of Ullock were particularly vocal about the landscaping aspects and the benefits of community gardens, accessibility to green spaces and social prescribing.  
 
Lord Douglas-Miller addressed some of the issues raised within the debate, initially acknowledging the disappointment in the Governments response to the Horticulture Sector Committee’s report, noting this was not the intention.

He concurred with the Lords that the sector “adds enormously to the nation’s mental health benefits”, but most significantly is the sectors economic contribution, with production estimated to be worth approximately £5bn to the UK economy. 
 
His comments on the six main category areas of the report: 

1. Consider establishing a cross-departmental horticultural sector working group:
   “Recognising the broad scope of the sector, ministerial responsibilities are shared in Defra between the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, covering edible horticulture, and the Minister for Nature, covering ornamental horticulture. We work closely together, and across government, to ensure that the sector is fully represented.” 
2. Horticultural strategy: 
   “we already take a strategic approach by working across government to ensure that resources are focused on major issues, such as labour, science and innovation, climate resilience, food security and plant health. However, I take the points made in today’s debate and will keep under review the need for a formal strategy.” 
3. Level of Government support on offer: 
   “The Government are absolutely committed to supporting the horticultural sector and fully recognise its significance. We have shown this in several ways. A range of funding offers is open to our horticulture sector. Earlier this year, we announced a range of measures to boost resilience and innovation in the sector. Many of the new initiatives were the result of the committee’s report, and I will continue to work closely with the horticultural industry to ensure that growers understand the full range of grants available to them.” 
4. Biosecurity and the border target operating model: 
   “The Government are aware of concerns from the horticultural sector about the introduction of the border target operating model, especially as May is a particularly busy month for that sector. In all the very many meetings I have had with the HTA, I have been clear that the implementation of the border target operating model should be a gradual process and avoid any delays or interruptions to trade. I have written to this effect to all border control posts.”
5. Common user charge: 
   “Consignments of medium-risk and high-risk plants and plant products will attract a charge of £29 and capped at a maximum of £145 per common health entry document to avoid a disproportionate cost to traders, particularly SMEs. I appreciate that any new costs are unwelcome, but we have endeavoured to make these costs as low and as fair as possible.” 
6. Peat: 
   “The Government remain committed to our proposal to ban the sale of peat for use in amateur gardening, and plan to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows. We propose no restrictions on peat use by the professional sector until after 2026, followed by exemptions that will allow peat use to continue for those areas where no ready alternative currently exists.” 

Lord Douglas-Miller concluded the debate, stating:

“The Government are absolutely committed to supporting the horticultural sector and fully recognise its significance.”  

There were several points that Lord Douglas-Miller was unable to respond to in the allotted time and we expect that full written responses will be made available in due course.

The Association looks forward to continuing its role in supporting endeavour, encouraging innovation, celebrating excellence, and demonstrating leadership for and behalf of our members. By working with key industry bodies, we are focussed on addressing the needs of our members and the wider industry, and show the Government the many benefits it brings to the people of the UK and the economy.