Andy Burnham has ended his first week as prime minister working from Manchester’s new No 10 North, after a series of early spending pledges that BBC Verify says amount to about £1.5bn.
The commitments announced during the week were largely focused on cost-of-living pressures. They included funding to tackle rough sleeping, a cut to VAT on domestic electricity bills, a lower bus fare cap in England outside London, and business rates support for pubs, clubs and live music venues.
BBC Verify reported that Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping would be supported by £340m over five years. The government said the money would come from existing uncommitted budgets within the housing department and would support at least 3,000 people. Official data cited by the BBC suggests around 4,800 people were sleeping rough on a single night in England in 2025.
The Treasury also announced a cut to VAT on domestic electricity bills in the current financial year, estimated to reduce a typical household bill by £45 from the autumn. The measure is expected to cost £850m in 2026-27. The government said it would be funded by cancelling the previous administration’s digital ID scheme, although the Office for Budget Responsibility had previously described that scheme as unfunded at the time of the last budget.
On bus fares, the government said the cap in England would be reduced from £3 to £2 from 1 January 2027, excluding London. The Department for Transport estimated the policy would cost more than £500m. Ministers said most of the money would come from replacing grants for international climate projects with loans, though Max Warner of the Institute for Fiscal Studies told the BBC there were uncertainties over repayment levels and interest rates.
The government also announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, with a typical pub expected to save £1,100. The measure is estimated to cost about £100m a year. The government said it would be fully funded, but gave limited detail beyond a review of reliefs for businesses it said did not make a positive contribution to local communities, including vape shops.
Burnham also worked from No 10 North at Heron House in Manchester city centre. Downing Street said the operation would be funded from existing Cabinet Office budgets and would not create an additional cost to taxpayers. Up to 300 civil servants are expected to be involved by the end of next year.
BBC Verify said the first-week pledges were small compared with projected total government spending of about £1.4tn this year. It also noted that larger policies Burnham has previously signalled, including social care reform, council house building and possible tax changes, could require future budgets or spending reviews to set out how they would be paid for.
