NICOLA Sturgeon has urged the Prime Minister to call an “urgent meeting of the Council of Heads of Government” this week.
The Prime Minister said the next planned meeting of the leaders of the UK’s four governments in September would be too late to discuss the cost of living crisis.
He said “a substantial plan” was needed to “prevent and mitigate what would otherwise be a crisis of unprecedented proportions”.
His letter to the Tory leader comes just hours after his spokesman rejected Gordon Brown’s call for an emergency COBRA summit to discuss the impact of rising inflation and the looming rise in energy prices.
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The spokesman said there was a convention that an outgoing prime minister would not commit to any major fiscal intervention.
In her letter, the Prime Minister said the situation was “deteriorating rapidly and many people across the UK simply cannot afford to wait until September for further action to be taken”.
He added: “I am therefore writing to call for an urgent meeting of the Council of Heads of Government and propose that we, as leaders of our respective governments, meet as soon as possible this week to discuss and agree urgent measures to help those most in need now, and also formulate an action plan for the coming autumn and winter”.
Ms Sturgeon said devolved governments’ power to act was limited as “many of the levers that would make the biggest difference are” in Whitehall.
He added: “It is also the case that only the UK Government can access and make resources available at the scale required. So actions by devolved governments alone, although important, will not be sufficient to meet the challenges unprecedented that we are facing.
“Action is now needed to address the significant gaps in support for households, particularly those on low incomes, who are increasingly vulnerable to the impact of rising family costs.
“However, it is also vital, given the further increases in energy bills to be announced later this month, that a substantial plan is developed now to avoid and mitigate what would otherwise be a crisis of unprecedented proportions, a crisis in which many people will be unable to feed themselves and their families or heat their homes.
“While few will escape some impact from the cost of living crisis, those impacts are not being felt uniformly.”
In an interim forecast last week, experts at energy consultancy Auxilione predicted the price cap on energy bills could reach £3,687 in October, almost double today’s record levels.
They also warned it could hit £4,400 in January.
In her letter, Ms Sturgeon described the tax cuts promised by Johnson’s likely successor, Liz Truss, as “irresponsible”, saying they would “benefit the relatively better off over the neediest”.
He said “the focus must be on providing targeted support to those most affected”.
Sturgeon said: “The current crisis requires clear, focused and determined leadership and cooperation to develop and deliver, at pace, a package of interventions to protect those most affected.
“The Scottish Government recognizes our responsibility and is committed to doing everything possible. However, we cannot respond on the scale required without action from your Government.
“This action is now required and I will make myself and my officials available so that a meeting can take place this week.”
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Earlier, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson would not announce any new measures before leaving office at the start of September.
They claimed it would be against convention for an outgoing prime minister to tie his successor’s hands with a “major fiscal intervention”.
He said there would be a conversation with current chancellor Nadhim Zahawi to ensure support measures that come into force at the end of the year remain “on track”.
The spokesman said: “Clearly these global pressures mean difficult times for the public. The Government recognized that the end of the year will present wider challenges with things such as changes to the price cap.
“That’s why, at the beginning of the summer, we introduced a series of measures to help the public. Clearly, some of the global pressures have increased since it was announced.
“By convention, it is not up to this prime minister to make major fiscal interventions during this period. It will be for a future prime minister.”
The spokesman denied that Johnson has been “missing in action” although he promised to serve as caretaker until his successor is named.