// Prime minister Rishi Sunak is set to ask supermarkets to charge the lowest possible amount for basic food items
// The new scheme, similar to an agreement in France, is at “drawing board stage” and will be voluntary
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans for supermarkets to introduce price caps on basic food items to help tackle rocketing food inflation.
The scheme aims to get retailers to charge the “lowest possible amount” on some essential items, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
A No 10 source said the plans are at “drawing board stage” and stressed any action by retailers “would be voluntary”.
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The move, based on a similar agreement to one in France, would be the biggest attempt to regulate UK supermarket prices since the Price Commission was set up in 1973.
The newspaper reported the proposal has been quietly discussed within Downing Street and among industry leaders for the last two weeks.
Sunak met with supermarket bosses earlier this month to address the inflationary impacts of food production after food inflation soared to 19.1% in March – the sharpest increase in 45 years.
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