In response to the Spring Statement today, Nicola Bates CEO of WineGB, said:

“We are disappointed in the halving of growth projections in the Spring Statement and what this means for consumer confidence. Until we better understand the consequences of the Spending Review to our key departments Defra, DBT and FCDO, we remain concerned about agriculture and agri-food beverages being omitted from the industrial strategy, and potentially what this means for the Great British domestic wine sector.

“The UK wine sector needs support to grow in order to become the world’s next great wine region. There remains a requirement for financial support to take advantage of our position as the UK’s fastest growing agricultural sector, bringing money and skilled jobs into the countryside.

“We hope to see the refinancing of the Sustainable Farming Incentive and ensure that we retain, and ideally grow, the support our sector receives in terms of equipment, export, and R&D. We also need further investment in production infrastructure, tourism, and education. This continued absence in funding stalls our growth.”