UK ministers discuss voluntary price limits for basic foods but rule out imposing caps

theguardian.com:

The UK government is working with supermarkets to voluntarily cap the price of basic food items in an effort to ease the cost of living squeeze, but insists it is not considering imposing price caps.

With food and drink prices rising at the fastest pace in more than 40 years and no let-up in sight, the Treasury and supermarkets have been discussing a possible voluntary scheme for maximum prices for certain goods. These would be likely to include essentials such as bread and milk.

Suggestions that “price caps” would be introduced prompted some commentators to claim that Britain would be returning to 1970s-style price controls, but government insiders insisted that any scheme would be voluntary.

Asked about the proposals on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, the health secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “My understanding is the government is working constructively with supermarkets as to how we address the very real concerns around food inflation and the cost of living, and doing so in a way that is also very mindful to the impact on suppliers.”

The plan would appear to be similar to an agreement reached recently between the French government and the country’s food retailers to set the “lowest possible price” on a number of everyday products for an initial three months. Under the agreement, announced in March, retailers could select which items this applied to, and these are marked with a special logo.

It is understood that at a recent meeting between the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and supermarket chains, which an official called “a brainstorming session”, one idea floated was for a scheme that UK supermarkets could opt into.

The Sunday Telegraph – which first reported that a potential plan had been discussed – quoted