I share people’s concerns about the health of our peatlands and recognise how important it is that we preserve them.
When we lose peatlands it increases the risk of localised flooding, damages water quality, destroys nature, and contributes to climate change.
Indeed, peatlands store massive amounts of carbon; twice as much as all the worlds’ forests combined.
To aid preservation efforts, there has long been a push for the sale of horticultural peat to be banned, especially as alternatives are now very much available.
In 2022, I was pleased that the previous Government announced that it would ban the sale of horticultural peat by 2024. However, the ban was never introduced and 2024 came and went.
The current Government has now said that it will introduce a ban. Indeed, on 5 January 2026, Mary Creagh, the Minister for Nature, said:
“The Government plans to legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat containing products when parliamentary time allows. This commitment is embedded within our Carbon Budget planning and, most recently, reflected in the latest iteration of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).”
Once again, I welcome this commitment to ban the use of peat in horticulture, I just hope that this time a ban will actually be introduced.
I can assure you that I will join with other MPs in pressing the Government to move ahead with the ban as soon as possible.