Address business rates burden to help drive inflation down
Responding to the latest CPI inflation figures, which show headline inflation unchanged at 2.2% and food inflation falling 0.2 percentage points to 1.3%, Kris Hamer, director of insight of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Headline inflation remained unchanged in August. Despite energy prices continuing to fall, this was counteracted by a rise in the transport category, particularly in air fares. Meanwhile, there was welcome news across wider retail as heavy discounting saw the inflation rate of clothing and footwear continue to fall. Households will have been happy to see food inflation fall to its lowest level since October 2021 as retailers continue to offer their customers the best value possible on a range of items with some goods such as fresh fruit and vegetables falling in price on the month.
“With the headline rate remaining above the Bank of England’s 2% target, it is clear that the government must not take low inflation for granted. Retailers are striving to offer good value to their customers, and can go further with a supportive policy environment. With new research showing the retail industry paying more than its fair share of business taxes, it’s time the government addressed this burden by introducing a Retail Rates Corrector. This would reduce the industry’s business rates bill by 20%, allowing retailers to continue to offer affordable prices to their customers while saving shops, protecting jobs and unlocking investment.”
ONS Consumer Price Index figures
| Year on Year changes | Jul-24 | Aug-24 |
| CPI (overall index) | 2.2% | 2.2% |
| 01 Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| 02 Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 7.3% | 5.8% |
| 03 Clothing and footwear | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| 04 Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | -1.5% | -1.6% |
| 05 Furniture, household equipment and maintenance | -1.7% | -1.3% |
| 06 Health | 5.7% | 5.5% |
| 07 Transport | 0.2% | 1.3% |
| 08 Communication | 4.5% | 4.1% |
| 09 Recreation and culture | 3.7% | 4.0% |
| 10 Education | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| 11 Restaurants and hotels | 4.9% | 4.3% |
| 12 Miscellaneous goods and services | 3.5% | 3.3% |
