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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to provide (a) research and development and (b) other support to help the UK horticulture industry to transition to peat-free growing mediums.

The Government recognises the progress already made in transitioning to peat-free alternatives. We also recognise that certain sectors within the horticulture industry are encountering particular challenges and that is why our proposals will include specific, and time limited, exemptions for the professional horticulture sector.

We are currently co-funding with the horticultural sector monitoring of the composition of growing media (including peat) that is supplied for horticultural use. We continue to work and support the industry with the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media, which allows manufacturers and retailers to make informed choices of growing media inputs to amateur or retail products.

We are also continuing to support research in this area, most recently with financial support to the Royal Horticultural Society’s new £1 million, co-funded, five-year project to support the transition to peat-free. This project will research sustainable alternatives to peat in large-scale commercial settings.