The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged Boris Johnson to act now in order to manage the cost-of-living crisis.
In order to manage the crisis, the CBI director-general Tony Danker has proposed four clear actions that the Government could undertake to lessen the severity of the crisis in the long-term and allow the next Prime Minister to take immediate action.
This comes as Cornwall Insight again raised its prediction for the upcoming price cap periods, with a typical household now expected to pay £4,266 a year for the three months to March 2023.
One of the steps that could be undertaken includes a cost-of-living pledge. The CBI believes the PM must bring together leadership candidates in the next two weeks to agree a way forward to support people and businesses with energy bills once the OFGEM price cap is in motion on 26 August.
Another important factor will be to put the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on official notice that an emergency budget is likely set for September and highlight the need to prepare the forecast immediately.
The third factor that is recommended for the Government to implement is directing the Cabinet Secretary to prepare a package of choices that can be proposed to leadership candidates now.
This could include factors on how to support the most vulnerable people in addition to firms throughout the autumn and winter.
The final recommendation states the Government should keep making decisions and enacting government policy to help business confidence over the next four weeks.
“The economic situation people and businesses are facing requires all hands to the pump this summer,” Danker said. “We simply cannot afford a summer of Government inactivity while the leadership contest plays out followed by a slow start from a new Prime Minister and Cabinet.
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor should be taking the next few weeks to grip the emerging crisis and the planning required to tackle it. This will also give their successor – whomever that may be – the very best chance of getting quickly out of the blocks.”
The recommendations come as Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak pledged to provide additional support for families if elected in September as predictions for the price cap jumped again this week to pass £4,200.
Both candidates have been criticised by renewable energy organisations for their attack on solar farms in a recent hustings, after both suggested they took away from food security by taking up agricultural land.
However, if every solar farm currently put forward was built, this would still account for less than 0.4% of the UK’s agricultural land and 0.28% of the UK’s entire land area, according to Solar Energy UK.