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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote the use of more sustainable materials in topsoil and mulch products.

We are supporting the horticulture sector to work towards targets for the removal of peat use in horticulture by 2020 for the retail sector and 2030 for the commercial sector as set out in the Natural Environment White Paper published in 2011. Part of this work is focussed on working with the industry on the development of a tool for assessing responsibly sourced and manufactured growing media ingredients.