Former Sainsbury’s CEO, Justin King, has criticised the government’s “blanket” policy on energy bills, calling for a more “targeted” approach.
Arguing for a means-tested system instead, King told Sky’s Trevor Phillips that as a general rule the government “should be giving to those people who can afford to pay their bills, so it can give more money to those who are going to struggle.”
“I think targeting is perfectly possible, initially through the benefits system, but through some kinds of means testing, King said.
“It may be painful to household budgets in the short term, but we have to have a different relationship with energy as a society.
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“I would not provide an unlimited support. I would make sure that everybody’s able to keep themselves warm and fed, but ultimately we have to pay a higher price for energy going forward.”
The former CEO at the Big 4 grocer, who is now a non-executive director at Marks and Spencer added that cost-of-living challenges are more severe than at any time since the 1970s.
This comes after Asda announced it was offering cheaper meals to over-60s to help tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
According to King, supermarkets have always taken very seriously the role that they play in helping its customers.
He said: “The challenge hasn’t been as great as this since… the 1970s, which is probably the last time the challenges to households were as great.”
He added: “They will play what part they can. You have to remember, of course, that supermarkets typically make only about 3% profit.
“Even if they invested, say, half of their potential profits in this kind of activity it’s only going to make a small dent – but an important dent, I would suggest, on the challenges of nearly 10% inflation.”
