Supermarket bosses write to Chancellor over food inflation

In a letter organised by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and signed by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Lidl, Aldi, Waitrose, Morrisons, and Asda, it raised concerns about food inflation and the “disproportionate tax burden.”

In the letter the retail leaders said they were “acutely aware” of their responsibility to deliver affordable, quality food to millions of households. But added that the UK grocery market is “highly competitive with narrow profit margins” that are well below those found in most other industries. They also highlighted that consumers benefit from some of the lowest food prices in the developed world but their ability to absorb additional costs is diminishing.

“We compete fiercely and work tirelessly to keep prices down and support communities everywhere through our significant investment in jobs and high streets. We exist at the centre of communities, supporting local suppliers and charities, driving footfall to surrounding businesses, and providing flexible jobs for people at all stages of their careers,” they said.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, commented: “Large retail stores sustain nearly one million British jobs and already contribute a third of all retail’s business rates, despite being a tiny proportion of all stores. This letter calls on the Chancellor to exempt shops from the new business rates surtax – levied on all large commercial premises. This would not only help to tackle food inflation but would support jobs and investment right across the country."

She added: “The Chancellor has rightly made tackling inflation her top priority, and with food inflation stubbornly high, ensuring retail’s rates burden doesn’t rise further would be one of the simplest ways to help. This would not cost the taxpayer a penny, with large office blocks and industrial plants, for whom business rates is a smaller proportion of their costs, paying a little more.”