BoE economist wants to hear about hardship in the UK - first stop Wales

Andy Haldane, Bank of England's chief economist, hears from families shopping around for cheap bread and stopping children going on school trips

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist is in Wales, on tour. But this is not the usual speechifying trip, addressing business audiences on the dry details of monetary policy. Instead Haldane - who some regard as a potential successor to the governor of the Bank, Mark Carney - is in listening mode, on the first leg of a nationwide tour that is aiming to feed the everyday experiences of ordinary households into monetary policymaking.

Britain's poorest families, he says, are being hardest hit by the rising prices of essentials like food and fuel, and action to prevent higher inflation becoming entrenched must therefore be a priority.

Related: Sharp rise in UK food prices inflates household shopping bill