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Food inflation: Treasury minister meets supermarket representatives

Food inflation: Treasury minister meets supermarket representatives
John Glen

With UK food price inflation at 46-year high, Treasury minister John Glen has on Thursday met supermarket representatives to discuss food prices.

Glen, the chief secretary to the treasury, listened to the views of the sector about the drivers of food inflation and asked the industry to continue to engage with senior government ministers on the matter and its impact on consumers.


“The government understands the concern among the British public about the current level of food prices and their impact on household budgets, which is why halving inflation this year is a top priority,” the Treasury said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has launched an investigation on Friday into the fairness of the country's food supply chain.

Official data showed UK food prices were 19.1 per cent higher in March than a year earlier, the biggest such rise since August 1977, while in April, grocery inflation was 17.3 per cent, according to industry data.

The Bank of England said on Thursday it expected overall inflation - which remained above 10 per cent in March - to fall more slowly than it had hoped, mostly due to unexpectedly big and persistent rises in food prices.

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Indies: It’s criminal police and government turn blind eye to shoplifting

Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

The ONS added that this figure was the highest since records began – in March 2003.

“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.