Food campaigners question effectiveness of supermarket price caps on basic food items

There are doubts the measures will have an impact on those that need help the most.
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The government is considering plans for supermarkets to introduce a cap on the price of basic food items such as bread and milk in a bid to help families during the cost of living crisis. A voluntary agreement with the retail giants could see the price of essential items fixed at the lowest possible amount.

The average cost of sliced white bread has risen by 28.7% (from £1.08 to £1.39) and whole milk by 26.4% (from £1.29 to £1.63 for four pint carton) over the last year.

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The government said it would work with food manufacturers regarding potential measures to ease the pressure on consumers. However, some food campaigners are not convinced a price cap is what’s currently needed.

Local food campaigner Lucy Antal said: "I’m never ever going to say it’s a bad thing to support people in whatever way it comes, but just focusing on capping basics from the supermarket is not actually that useful for quite a lot of people.

“I can think of a lot of people in Merseyside that don’t have a supermarket within walking distance of their homes. They might have a corner shop, but we’re not talking about a corner shop. For those people who are maybe on the periphery of various districts, they don’t have access to supermarkets, they quite often don’t have good public transport where they are that takes you to the shops, and they can’t afford to run a car or even to pay the bus fare sometimes."

Food campaigner Lucy AntalFood campaigner Lucy Antal
Food campaigner Lucy Antal

This comes after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, spoke to food manufacturers and the independent Competition and Markets Authority last week about the cost of food in the UK.

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The Chancellor highlighted the widespread concern among the British public about the current level of food prices and their impact on household budgets, particularly for the most vulnerable.

Though prices are coming down across other parts of the economy, with energy bills expected to fall, food inflation is at 19.2%, contributing to the all-too-familiar cost of living crisis.

  • Watch the video at the top of this page for the full feature on food prices, the cost of living crisis and more from food campaigners.
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