UK: HTA submits proposals to Chancellor, calls for support for the horticultural sector

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has submitted an urgent set of proposals to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of the Autumn Budget 2024, calling for vital action to support the environmental horticulture sector. Representing 1,400 UK businesses covering the full breadth of the industry from growing to landscaping, manufacturing to sales, the HTA highlights the sector's critical role in driving economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national health goals. However, immediate government intervention is needed to reduce financial burdens, improve regulatory frameworks, and support the industry's sustainable growth.

The HTA's submission outlines the following key priorities:

• Borders and trade: The HTA calls for a fully functional trade and border system that reduces delays, rising costs, and biosecurity issues. Immediate solutions include negotiating a Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU to ease ongoing barriers to trade since the UK's departure from the EU.
  
  
• Sustainable peat-free transition: The HTA has raised concerns about the impact of the early peat ban, set for 2026, which risks job losses and declines in plant production. The association is asking for a supported, gradual transition to peat-free growing media, with increased research, development funding, and transition grants to aid growers, especially SMEs.
  
  
• Reducing financial burdens on SMEs: With 95% of the horticulture sector comprised of SMEs, the HTA calls for relief from business rates and other rising costs driven by regulatory requirements. It also wants to see a review of existing regulations to ensure they do not overburden businesses while also calling for long-term business rates reform.
  
  
• Action on retail crime: Retail crime remains a significant issue for horticultural businesses, with millions lost annually due to theft. The HTA asks the government to take stronger action on this issue by enhancing policing responses, especially in rural areas, to protect businesses from crime and ensure they remain competitive.
  
  
• Support for growth and skills: The HTA is asking for reforms to the apprenticeship levy to better support SMEs, alongside investment in skills training to improve productivity across the sector. An employment framework is needed that will not hinder recruitment and investment in workforces, particularly in rural businesses that struggle to hire skilled workers.
  
  
• Grow productivity through mechanization and automation: The HTA is pushing for greater support to encourage the adoption of automation and technology across the sector. With 55% of growers looking to expand in the next five years, investments in mechanization will be essential to driving productivity and ensuring the UK's horticultural sector remains competitive.
  
  
• Deliver a planning system that champions horticulture and green spaces: The HTA advocates for reforms to the UK planning system to prioritize horticulture and green spaces in new developments, calling for the inclusion of green spaces and domestic gardens in urban planning and the maintenance of existing green spaces to support biodiversity and public wellbeing.

In her opening address at the HTA Conference in September, Fran Barnes, HTA Chief Executive, highlighted the sector's growing need for certainty and stability amid mounting economic and operational pressures.

Said Barnes: "Our focus now is that the new government understands the pressures you face and the critical importance of this sector to deliver their missions. We need to see a commitment from the government to help, not hinder, our growth."

The HTA also emphasized the sector's significant contributions to the UK economy, including nearly £29 billion in GDP, £6.8 billion in tax revenue, and the employment of almost 680,000 people. With appropriate support, the industry can play a central role in achieving the UK's environmental targets, improving green spaces, and mitigating climate change.