A major supermarket says it is cutting the cost of its baby formula in a move it claims will make it £1.80 cheaper than its rivals.

The announcement by Iceland, which will sell 800g of SMA for £7.95, is the latest development in a long running saga over the fluctuating price of formula milk.

Prices have risen by a quarter in two years and despite some falls in recent weeks, remain at historically high levels.

There have been stories of cash-strapped parents watering down bottles, food banks overwhelmed with requests, parents introducing cheaper foods like porridge earlier than they should and of course we’ve all seen the security tags that now come as standard on many large tubs.

The industry is also being probed by The Competition and Markets Authority, which is examining whether the market works for new parents.

The World Health Organisation says it fears parents are often ‘exploited’ by the costs, while last year charity The Food Foundation pointed out that government-issued Healthy Start vouchers seldom now covered the cost of first infant milk so high were prices.

It’s difficult to argue what’s more important than making sure babies get a proper start in life.

So is it about time we started giving it away to those who can’t afford it? Putting it on a means-tested prescription perhaps?

Or at least devising a system maybe similar to that used for energy - through which prices are capped and the cost of feeding a vulnerable two-week-old baby is taken out of the hands of money-minded retailers?

The industry is understandably tightly controlled – so as not to undermine breastfeeding.

Current rules prevent discounts or promotions, limit parents using gift cards or loyalty points to buy milk, while containers nearing the end of their shelf life must not be reduced. And with few own-brand options – unlike other foods or even other baby products like nappies - competition when it comes to pricing is therefore somewhat scarce.

Charities estimate there can be as much as a 70% difference between the highest and lowest-priced products but Iceland’s decision would suggest there is some slack in the system?

But there has to be a balance.

For many families, breastfeeding simply isn’t an option. It can be difficult, time-consuming, exhausting and ultimately isn’t something every mother and child will take to.

Fed at the end of the day is what’s best.

Perhaps it’s society’s attitude towards formula feeding, and a misguided perception parents always have a choice, that has led us to this place?

But children starved of basic, essential nutrition in those early months risk forever being at a disadvantage. Research shows it will impact the ways in which their little brains develop and that will have consequences for years to come.

During the Second World War and for years after – free milk was available alongside items like cod liver oil and orange juice to ensure children’s diets weren’t suffering under the constraints of rationing. Call it a welfare scheme – in fact call it whatever you like – but if post-wartime Britain can freely provide for it’s youngsters surely today’s leaders can come up with some bold policies in order to do the same?