Government has to work with supermarkets to ensure that own-brand items are stocked in all stores and that prices are more transparent to get inflation down, consumer group Which? reiterated today.
Rocio Concha, head of policy and advocacy at the consumer group said: “Millions of people are struggling to put food on the table and some parents are telling us they are skipping meals".
Concha was speaking after weekend reports that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will meet with various UK regulators to assess whether companies could be doing more to ease inflation and ease consumer struggles.
The Chancellor will meet with the competition and markets authority as well as regulators for the energy, water and communications industry.
Accusations of profiteering have lingered around multiple industries in 2023, predominately the fuel and food market.
The Bank of England, which upped interest rates to a 15-year high in response to high inflation, argued that some retailers were heightening prices or failing to pass on the fall in costs.
Rishi Sunak even said the price of an average shopping bill had “gone up far too much in the past few months.”
As well as the supermarkets, Which? wants Hunt to take a hard line on telecoms firms.
“People are also being squeezed by mid-contract rises to their broadband bills and trapped between paying exorbitant exit fees to change providers or staying and suffering price hikes.”
Which? believes it’s critical that "Ofcom’s review of inflation-linked mid-contract hikes results in changes,” Concha concluded.