UK: "What we heard today is disappointing"

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is disappointed by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement.

Fran Barnes, the HTA's Chief Executive, commented: "We made a clear call ahead of this Spring forecast for action on the mounting costs facing horticultural businesses, curbing their ability to invest, recruit and grow. We were looking for the Chancellor to use this opportunity to give our sector and customers the confidence and certainty they so critically need. What we heard today on near-term unemployment and growth prospects is disappointing.

"Faced with a multitude of bill hikes and bureaucracy – business rates, employment law changes, wage hikes, energy costs, extended producer responsibility bills and requirements – we need action to stop stifling SMEs. These businesses are the driving force of the economy, and many are family-owned businesses. These are also working people whom the government so readily references. It is vital that they can work and operate in conditions which support their growth and give certainty. We continue to call on the government to act on business costs and put a spring in their step to boost our chances of real green growth.

"We will look at the detail that comes from the OBR, including the first official assessment of the costs of recent policy changes, such as on inheritance tax. We also welcome the confirmation in the Chancellor's speech that this Government will go further in strengthening global relationships, breaking down trade barriers and deepening alliances with European partners. For us, this is the swift delivery of an SPS agreement to unlock the costs and barriers for our plant imports and exports."

© Horticultural Trades Association Fran Barnes