Children aged 5 to 15 to travel free on local buses in England in August

Children aged five to 15 will travel for free on participating local buses in England in August.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a £100 million fare-free scheme on Thursday aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures.

The Labour government will also suspend tariffs on more than 100 types of products, including biscuits, chocolate, and dried fruit and nuts.

Ministers are urging supermarkets to cut costs for shoppers but will not impose price caps on essentials such as eggs, bread and milk.

Marks & Spencer's chief executive, Stuart Machin, called even a voluntary scheme "completely preposterous."

"My advice is that the Government should reduce some of the tax and regulatory burden and free us up in a very competitive market," he said.

Treasury secretary Dan Tomlinson told the BBC it was "right that the government looks across the board at what more we can do – both government levers but also talking to industry about the steps that they can take to support people with the cost of living."

The government estimates the bus scheme could save a family with two children making a weekly return trip at £1.50 per fare about £27 in August.

Eligible children can take unlimited trips and will not need to register.

Reeves said the plan would protect households and businesses while building a stronger Britain.

She also posted on TikTok that she was "stepping in to make sure kids can still experience the little joys this summer."

The scheme will run from 1 to 31 August and follows a trial in the West of England that covered summer, Easter and Christmas holidays.

Helen Godwin, the Labour mayor of the West of England, said the regional scheme had delivered around 1.4 million free journeys.

"It's brilliant that, after we have invested devolved funding to make a difference that people across the West can see and feel, the government is rolling out Kids Go Free nationally this August," she said.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the measures would put money back into people's pockets.

The full list of products with suspended tariffs will be published next week.

A 5p cut on fuel duty will be extended to the end of the year rather than ending in September, the government said on Wednesday.

The reduced rate for petrol and diesel was introduced by the previous Conservative government after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed prices up in 2022.