IPPR Urges Government To Cut Energy And Food Bills

Ahead of the upcoming budget announcement, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published new proposals calling on the Government to launch an Australian-style “war on bills”, with a particular focus on reducing the cost of energy and food – the two areas identified as causing the greatest financial stress for UK households.

IPPR notes that energy bills remain around 50% higher than in early 2021, while food prices have risen 35% since 2019. The think tank argues that a series of smaller, visible interventions could help households while longer-term structural reforms take shape.

Energy proposals include:

• Removing levies that are not contributing to decarbonisation.
• Pressuring Ofgem to review cost-of-capital assumptions for network investment.
• Using existing revenue (for example, VAT receipts) to subsidise electricity rather than offering tax cuts that may go unnoticed on bills.
• Supporting the electrification of demand such as household solar, batteries and EVs, alongside the ongoing Warm Homes Plan.

Food proposals include:

• Short, time-limited bargains and clear labels highlighting shrinkflation.
• Ensuring supermarket discounts are available to all customers, not only loyalty-card members.
• Requiring convenience stores to stock lower-cost, non-brand staples.
• Promoting retailers that pass on lower input costs to consumers.

The report highlights findings from the Competition and Markets Authority showing that market concentration in some food categories has enabled branded suppliers to increase profitability in recent years.

IPPR suggests a dedicated “war on bills” cabinet to coordinate cross-government action on energy, food, housing and consumer protection, and to raise the visibility of measures aimed at lowering household costs.

Read the full press release here