The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has responded to the budget, welcoming targeted measures such as changes to the Small Business Rate Relief, but says the Chancellor has missed an opportunity to do more to ease the cost of doing business and give environmental horticulture businesses the confidence to invest and grow.

Fran Barnes, the HTA’s Chief Executive, commented: “The Chancellor described today’s Budget as being ‘for the working people of Britain, for British businesses, big and small’ and said he wanted to give businesses breathing space on the cost of doing business. While there are some welcome announcements, overall the Budget falls short of the action needed to back British businesses, particularly smaller businesses which are the backbone of our economy.

“More than 90% of HTA member businesses are SMEs, many of them family-run. Together, they are an important part of the UK economy, with environmental horticulture contributing £38 billion to UK GDP and supporting 722,000 jobs. Yet our members are weathering a perfect storm of rising costs, climate pressures and uncertainty, all of which affect their confidence and ability to invest, employ and grow.

“Rising employment costs, energy bills, business rates and regulatory pressures remain some of the biggest concerns for our members. Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and increases to the National Living Wage are estimated to add £134 million a year to our sector’s costs.  Our sector has ambitions to grow and a workforce is essential to do that – however, the further 3.9% increase in the National Living Wage announced in this Budget will make it increasingly difficult for businesses to absorb rising payroll costs while remaining competitive, protecting jobs and returning to profitability in the context of the wider cost pressures businesses have had to absorb.  We continue to urge the Chancellor to reduce wider employment cost pressures on industry, including reversing the increase in employer NICs and reviewing the Employment Rights Act. We are disappointed that this broader action has not been delivered.

“We welcome the increase in the Small Business Rate Relief threshold to £18,000 for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. This should provide welcome support and some certainty on future costs for eligible garden centres over the next two years, but it will not benefit every business or premises across our diverse sector. Extending the fuel duty freeze and removing import tariffs on fertilisers are further positive steps that can help some businesses manage operating costs. However, these targeted measures do not go far enough to address the cumulative pressures facing our sector.

“The UK-EU Summit on 20 November presents an important opportunity to build on the government’s recent action on tariff suspensions and reducing red tape and secure a meaningful Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. With 79% of UK growers relying on plant imports, 99% of which come from the EU, reducing unnecessary costs and border disruption is vital to our industry to maintain the supply of trees, plants, bulbs and seeds needed to support UK horticulture. But we need to see momentum from recent government engagement translate into a practical agreement, with immediate easements for our sector and the support needed for implementation.

“Environmental horticulture has an important role to play in the UK’s economic growth, from supporting jobs and investment to creating greener, healthier communities. The government must recognise the value of our sector and ensure its policies give businesses the confidence and stability they need to fulfil that potential. We will continue to work with government to make the case for the businesses behind green growth.”