Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in response to the fall in the value of the pound sterling; and what is their response to the reported intentions of some companies to raise the price of certain supermarket products to offset this fall.

The Government has a target for inflation, rather than the exchange rate, and does not comment on currency movements.

Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The MPC has the primary objective, set out in law, of maintaining price stability and therefore monitors the general level of prices.

Pricing decisions of individual retailers are taken on a commercial basis, and the Government does not seek to comment on these decisions.