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Foxley Kingham Medical

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The eat out to help out scheme launched by the Government amid the coronavirus crisis has pushed the UK inflation rate to a five-year low in August as restaurant prices decrease.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), consumer prices (CPI) in August fell to 0.2%, compared with 1% in July.

The ONS attributed the decrease to the Government scheme, which ran from Monday to Wednesday in August and offered 50% off food up to the value of £10 at many restaurants and coffee shops across the country.

Over 100 million meals were claimed through the eat out to help out discount scheme.

Prices across the hospitality industry fell 2.8% compared to the same period last year, its first decline in the same category since 1989 when records began.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said:

"The cost of dining out fell significantly in August thanks to the ‘eat out to help out' scheme and VAT cut, leading to one of the largest falls in the annual inflation rate in recent years.

"For the first time since records began, air fares fell in August as fewer people travelled abroad on holiday.

"Meanwhile the usual clothing price rises seen at this time of year, as autumn ranges hit the shops, also failed to materialise."

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