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The chancellor is set to announce a new initiative allowing children aged five to 15 to travel free on selected local bus services across England during August. This £100 million fare-free scheme aims to help ease the financial strain many households are experiencing amid ongoing cost-of-living challenges. Rachel Reeves, leading the Labour government’s announcement, highlighted this measure as part of a broader plan to support families throughout the summer.
Alongside the free bus travel offer, the government will temporarily suspend tariffs on over 100 products, which include everyday items such as biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit, and nuts. While ministers are encouraging supermarkets to lower prices to benefit consumers, they have decided against imposing any formal price caps on staple goods like eggs, bread, and milk. However, this approach has faced criticism; Stuart Machin, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, called the idea of voluntary cost-cutting “completely preposterous,” urging the government instead to reduce tax and regulatory pressures in the competitive retail sector.
Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson explained to the BBC that the government is exploring all options, including discussions with industry, to identify further ways to alleviate the cost of living for the public. The free bus travel scheme is expected to save a family with two children approximately £27 during August if the children regularly make a weekly return trip costing £1.50 per fare. Importantly, eligible youngsters will be allowed unlimited journeys throughout the month without needing to register for the scheme.
This initiative builds upon a similar program piloted in the West of England, where “Kids Go Free” has resulted in around 1.4 million free trips over school holidays. Helen Godwin, the Labour mayor of the West of England, praised the national rollout, emphasizing that devolved funding in her region has made a tangible difference for families. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer highlighted that the combination of free travel for children and tariff suspensions on common food products is designed to restore some financial relief to households. The government plans to release the full list of tariff-exempt products shortly. Additionally, the 5p reduction on fuel duty, originally introduced by the previous Conservative government amid rising oil prices, will now continue through the end of the year in response to recent global supply shocks affecting petrol and diesel prices
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