Commenting on the Chancellor’s announcements today, Jennifer Pheasey, Director of Public Affairs said: “HTA members across the breadth of the UK horticultural sector have seen energy and other business costs mounting; that is why we called for immediate action to support horticulture businesses and provide certainty. We welcome action by the government to take steps to ease this pressure and for listening to our calls. It will however not be until businesses see their bills, that the reality of these measures and reliefs are fully understood.

“After summer droughts, weakening consumer confidence, energy costs and wider economic pressure, this will be a challenging winter.

“We also need clarity on measures to ‘reform the supply side of the economy’ – with the Chancellor’s reference to ‘agriculture production’, the importance of ornamental (environmental) horticulture must not be underestimated. There is significant potential to support investment in R&D, innovation and automation. This will provide both economic and environmental return on investment.

“HTA represents 1500 members, in a sector which supports nearly 700,000 employees and contributes almost £28bn to UK GDP. We are keen to work with Government and policy-makers to ensure horticultural businesses are able to benefit from today’s announcements. With the right policies and support, our sector is ideally placed to contribute to green growth ambitions.”