Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out the governments proposed price cap, claiming it is not the best solution to tackle rising food prices.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday (20 June), Hunt said: “I don’t believe capping prices is the right long-term solution.”
However, he added that he “will be meeting the regulators next week to talk further about what needs to be done with respect to supermarkets.”
In a bid to help households struggling during the cost-of-living crisis, the government proposed a price cap on ‘basic’ grocery items in May.
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However, supermarkets were quick to dismiss the idea, with Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose terming the price cap as “backward-looking,” adding it could have “unintended consequences.”
This comes as grocery price inflation remains in the double digits at 16.5% for the four weeks to 11 June and as nearly 70% of households are ‘extremely’ or ‘very worried’ about food or drink inflation.
Kantar head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt said that while the new level of inflation is the lowest figure since 2022, “prices rising at 16.5% isn’t something to celebrate and it’s still the sixth highest monthly figure in the past 15 years”.
“Price rises are now being compared to the increasing rate of grocery inflation seen last summer, which means that it should continue to fall in the coming months, a welcome result for everyone,” he said.
