The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) says it will keep up pressure on the Government after assurances that the garden industry will be involved in discussions over a code of practice on hosepipe bans.
The discussions will take place during this week's concluding debates on the Flood and Water Management Bill, which was passed in the House of Commons on April 8.

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.

The gardening industry believes a code for water companies is needed to avoid confusion amongst consumers, says the HTA, as this negatively impacts on garden centres and other industry members in times of drought. It wants to see a code that introduces a procedure for phasing in water restrictions for gardeners during dry periods in a consistent fashion, unlike in 2006 when the impacts to the gardening industry caused £12m in sales loss.

The HTA says it looks forward to working with Defra in these continued talks to bring forward a working code of practice for the water industry.

The HTA's business development director Tim Briercliffe 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."

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 aims to provide better, more comprehensible management of flood risk for people, homes and businesses, tackle bad debt in the water industry, improve the affordability of water bills for certain groups and individuals and help ensure continuity of water supplies to the consumer.