Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department made an assessment of the economic impact of a horticulture peat ban on the UK horticulture industry before announcing a consultation on a 2024 ban in retail.

Prior to publishing the consultation on ending the sale of peat and peat containing products in horticulture in England and Wales, we consulted with all relevant Government departments.

During our consultation, we completed an assessment of the economic impact of the proposed measures. This assessment can be found here: Consultation Impact Assessment Ending the Retail Sale of Peat in Horticulture in England and Wales.pdf (defra.gov.uk). This impact assessment builds on over ten years of close engagement with the horticulture sector that saw the adoption of voluntary targets for the amateur sector to be peat free by 2020.

Following the analysis of all consultation responses, the Government will publish a full response outlining our plans for ending the sale of peat and peat containing products in horticulture.