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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government’s intended planning reforms on Controlled Environment Agriculture.

The Government is committed to a prosperous horticulture sector.

Unlocking innovation is integral to enabling our growers to improve productivity sustainably, and to contribute to our food security. We are working with the industry to stimulate this, including through the adoption of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) technologies enabling crops to be grown and harvested year-round in a climate-controlled environment.

We are committed to working across Government and are reviewing responses to the recently closed consultation which asked for sector views on our proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).