A UK minister has admitted that funding worth £450 million to support Andy Burnham's proposed £2 bus fare cap has "not been worked out yet", raising questions over the policy's viability. The admission is particularly awkward for the Government as it came just a day after the Prime Minister told Cabinet colleagues that all policies must be fully costed before being announced, prompting criticism that Labour is failing to follow its own rules on fiscal discipline.

The £2 bus fare cap has been championed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as a way of making public transport more affordable, but the lack of a confirmed funding plan for the £450 million cost has left the scheme's future uncertain. Critics have seized on the discrepancy between the Prime Minister's instruction on costing policies and the minister's admission, framing it as evidence of poor coordination within Government over transport funding commitments.