Horticultural Sector Committee: what are the key challenges facing the sector?

This evidence session, which is open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 4 of the House of Lords and streamed live on Parliament TV.

Topics the committee is likely to cover include:

• The horticultural sector’s value to the UK.
• Key challenges faced by horticultural businesses today.
• The Government’s horticultural business support package.
• How the Government is helping horticultural businesses to achieve net zero targets.
• Opportunities presented to the sector by research and development in science and technology.
• Post-Brexit opportunities and risks.
• The Retained EU Law Bill and its implications for the sector.
• Lessons that can be learnt from horticultural policy overseas and in the devolved administrations.

More about this inquiry 

The cross-party Horticultural Sector Committee is considering the challenges, opportunities and risks faced by the horticultural sector, including the impact of rising input costs and labour and skills shortages, and how innovative technologies might address these issues and other pressing challenges such as the impact of climate change on productivity and food supply. In addition, it will explore how policy can support the sector in meeting the Government’s ambitions for levelling up and post-Brexit trade policy. It will publish its report by the end of this year.

Last month the committee published a call for evidence. The deadline for the submissions is 6pm on Monday 10 April 2023.