Plans for supermarket price cap on basic food

The authorities is discussing plans for supermarkets to present a headdress connected the terms of basal nutrient items to assistance tackle the rising outgo of living.

A voluntary statement with large retailers could spot terms reductions connected basal nutrient items similar breadstuff and milk.

Downing Street sources person stressed that determination are nary plans for a mandatory terms cap.

Supermarkets are expected to beryllium allowed to prime which items they would headdress and lone instrumentality portion successful the initiative, modelled connected a akin statement successful France, connected a voluntary basis.

At a gathering with nutrient manufacturers past week the chancellor Jeremy Hunt stressed wide interest astir prices and agreed to prosecute with the manufacture connected imaginable measures to easiness unit connected household budgets.

Mr Hunt has said helium would backed an summation successful involvement rates if it curbed higher prices and soaring ostentation - adjacent if that risked plunging the UK into recession.

The complaint of ostentation tin beryllium calculated successful assorted ways, but the main measurement is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) - which tracks the prices of mundane items successful an imaginary "basket of goods".

The past fig for CPI was 8.7% successful the twelvemonth to April, down from 10.1% successful March and 11.1% successful October.

Soaring prices of immoderate nutrient products has meant ostentation has not travel down by arsenic overmuch arsenic galore predicted.

Experts person warned that costly nutrient is acceptable to overtake vigor bills arsenic the "epicentre" of the cost-of-living crisis.