Tesco boss warns over food poverty

THE boss of Tesco has said the Government should make cost-of-living support “more targeted” for the vulnerable as he warned over food poverty.

Ken Murphy, chief executive of the supermarket giant, said he has seen positive signs of shopping behaviour in Tesco stores since energy bill support was handed out to UK households from October. But he suggested that improvements could still be made to financial support.

Mr Murphy told reporters: “It looks like the action by the Government has helped but I believe it can be more targeted in the form of who it helps, to help the vulnerable.

“There should be a case for more means testing with support.

“There is a certain responsibility that should be shared by businesses, government and communities to help those most at need.”

Mr Murphy said he “cannot predict” if food poverty will worsen but said Tesco is steadfast in its commitment to keeping prices affordable for all customers amid the uncertain backdrop. It came as the retailer launched it first “reverse supermarket”, where shoppers can purchase food for donations for vulnerable people rather than for themselves.

Tesco is working with charity partners FareShare and the Trussell Trust for the Give Back Express pop-up shop on Poland Street in central London over this weekend.

FareShare has forecast that it will redistribute more than 13,000 tonnes of food to people this winter as rampant energy bill rises weigh on households.

The Trussell Trust also confirmed that 320,000 people used a food bank for the first time between April to September this year and warned that demand is continuing to rise. The cost-of-living crisis is weighing more heavily on people living in the most deprived areas of England, new official data has revealed. The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) survey exposed divisions across the country in terms of how people are being affected by higher living costs.

Meanwhile, latest Office of National Statistics figures suggest that people in the most deprived areas of England more frequently reported spending less on food and essentials, at 58%, compared with a third of those living in the least deprived areas who said so.

It comes as a vast majority of adults in the UK reported seeing the price of their food shop rise over the past month, as the consumer prices index (CPI) inflation rate hit 11.1% in October.

On the other hand, people in the least deprived areas of England appeared more likely to have made energy efficiency improvements to their home, the ONS’s survey found.

More than a third said they had in November, compared with less than a quarter of those living in the most deprived areas. The ONS takes into account key domains such as income, education, health and crime to determine the deprivation of an area – with cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Kingstonupon-Hull and London being home to some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England.

Earlier this month the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, admitted higher inflation is hitting lower income households harder because a bigger proportion of their spending goes on essentials like food and energy.