Retailers agree to slash costs to help struggling families with cost of living

Some of the biggest UK retailers will offer new deals to help families struggling with soaring prices over the summer holidays.

Businesses in the UK have agreed to slash some costs as part of the government’s Help for Households campaign as the cost of living crisis pushes more families towards breaking point - and inflation is at a 40-year high.

The campaign involves some of the UK’s biggest businesses, including Asda, Morrisons, Amazon and Vodafone, and will reduce costs at the checkouts.

It will also ensure that families have access to necessary services during the summer holidays and beyond, with Boris Johnson saying the campaign will help those who are “feeling the pinch”.

What deals are included in the Help for Households campaign?

The deals include the extension of supermarket giant Asda’s scheme allowing children to buy a meal for £1, and the introduction of a “feed your family for a fiver” campaign by Sainsbury’s.

London theatres will let children see a West End show for free in August with a fee-paying adult, and Vodafone is promoting a mobile social tariff of £10 a month.

Amazon’s new ‘help for households’ page will provide access to free entertainment such as Freevee and Amazon Music, plus TV, learning resources and value groceries, and in Morrisons children can eat for free when a parent buys an adult meal.

These deals form the first part of the Help for Household retail campaign which will aim to provide deals for families over four distinct periods –the summer holidays, back to school, autumn and Christmas.

All the deals will be hosted on the government’s new Help for Households website so that people can find them easily in one place.

David Buttress, the government’s cost-of-living tsar and former Just Eat chief, agreed the deals with businesses.

Mr Johnson and Mr Buttress are set to meet leaders of participating companies in Downing Street on Thursday (21 July) to discuss further cost-cutting initiatives.

Mr Buttress is set to praise the campaign’s “good start” while making clear that “we’ve got more to do and more deals to announce – not just over the summer holidays but when kids return to school and in the run up to Christmas when costs are typically higher”.

The Prime Minister said: “This government is providing an unprecedented £37 billion worth of support to help households through the storm.

“Both the public and private sector have a role to play here – and that’s why it’s great to see so many leading UK businesses are now coming forward to offer new deals and discounts that will provide much needed respite at the checkout.

“This won’t solve the issue overnight but it’s yet another weapon in our arsenal as we fight back against the scourge of rising prices and inflation.”