Lords debate calls on Government to take on board garden industry concerns about
hosepipe bans
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is encouraged by the Government’s
assurances that it will involve the gardening industry in ongoing discussions over
a Code of Practice on Hosepipe Bans during this week’s concluding debates on the
Flood and Water Management Bill.
Tim Briercliffe, Business Development Director of the Horticultural Trades Association,
said: “The Government’s assurances that they will organise talks between water companies
and other stakeholders, including the HTA, are very welcome. We will keep up the
pressure on Government as we work towards a Code of Practice that could really work.
This House of Lords debate is a significant milestone in this process.”
During the House of Lords’ second reading and committee stages Government spokespeople
made assurances that, following Royal Assent, informal stakeholder discussions would
take place to develop a framework for managing drought order powers.1 The HTA looks
forward to working with Defra in these continued talks to bring forward a working
Code of Practice for the water industry.
The gardening industry believes that a code for water companies is needed to avoid
confusion amongst consumers, as this negatively impacts on garden centres and other
industry members in times of drought.
The HTA would like to see a code that introduces a procedure for phasing in water
restrictions for gardeners during dry periods in a consistent fashion rather than
the piecemeal approach which was taken by the water companies during the 2006 drought.
The Flood and Water Management Bill received Royal Assent in the wash up period
of Parliament on Thursday 8 April. Parliament was dissolved officially on Monday
12 April and will not return till 18 May.