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 implications for his Department's policies of the Horticultural Trade Association's press release entitled HTA response to Defra announcement on horticultural peat, dated 27 August 2022.

I welcome the good progress made in terms of reducing the quantity of peat used in growing media. However, there is significant support for ending the use of peat in horticulture which will contribute to our net zero carbon targets and prevent biodiversity loss. Officials are currently engaging with stakeholders, including the Horticultural Trade Association, in order to identify and overcome the remaining technical barriers to ending the use of peat in horticulture.