Transport secretary '100% sure' new bus fare cap in England is fully funded
Heidi Alexander, UK transport secretary, insists the £2 bus fare cap is fully funded by reprioritising international climate finance, amid criticism over the government's spending plans.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said she is "100% sure" that the new £2 cap on single bus fares in England is fully funded. The cap, announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government, will take effect from January, reducing the current maximum fare of £3.
The £454 million funding package will come largely from reprioritising international climate finance. Around £400 million will be raised by converting grants for climate projects in developing countries into loans that must be repaid, with the remainder coming from savings within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
This follows the government's earlier announcement of a VAT cut on household electricity bills from 1 October, funded by scrapping the digital ID scheme. Former cabinet minister Darren Jones questioned the funding of these policies on social media, calling the digital ID scheme "unfunded" and demanding the government outline its funding plans in the budget.
Alexander criticised Jones's comments as untimely and unwise. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride told BBC Breakfast that the government could not answer where the money was coming from, arguing that the digital ID scheme had never been funded in the first place, so cancelling it saves nothing.
